Mössbauer study of Meridiani Planum, the first iron‐nickel meteorite found on the surface of Mars by the MER Opportunity

Abstract

Abstract— –Meridiani Planum is the first iron meteorite found on Mars. It was discovered in 2005 by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (MER‐B). Mössbauer spectra (MS) of the unbrushed and brushed meteorite species were acquired in 10 degrees temperature windows in the range of 210–260 K. Earlier examinations of these MS have led to the conclusion that the meteorite, which contains ∼∼7 wt% Ni, belongs to the IAB meteorite group. Here, making use of a recently developed calibration/folding procedure for MER MS, we report the results of the MS analyses for the single temperature windows m5 (210–220 K), m6 (220–230 K), m7 (230–240 K), and m89 (240–260 K). All spectra consist of a sextet and a ferric doublet. The hyperfine field of the sextet, extrapolated to room temperature, is ∼∼34.5 T, which is, based on Mössbauer studies of meteorites found on Earth, indeed consistent with the presence of kamacite. The fractional spectral area of the sextet is ∼∼0.96 of the total spectrum. The ferric doublet has an average quadrupole splitting of 0.70 mm/s and is not diagnostic of any specific Fe mineral.