Magnetic properties experiments on the Mars Pathfinder lander: preliminary results.
Many of the particles currently suspended in the martian atmosphere are magnetic, with an average saturation magnetization of about 4 A. m2/kg (amperes times square meters per kilogram). The particles appear to consist of claylike aggregates stained or cemented with ferric oxide (Fe2O3); at least some of the stain and cement is probably maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3). The presence of the gamma phase would imply that Fe2+ ions leached from the bedrock, passing through a state as free Fe2+ ions dissolved in liquid water. These particles could be a freeze-dried precipitate from ground water poured out on the surface. An alternative is that the magnetic particles are titanomagnetite occurring in palagonite and inherited directly from a basaltic precursor.
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Oersted Laboratory, Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics, and Geophysics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Madsen
M B
MB
Gunnlaugsson
H P
HP
Goetz
W
W
Knudsen
J M
JM
Hargraves
R B
RB
Smith
P
P
Britt
D
D
Dinesen
A R
AR
Mogensen
C T
CT
Olsen
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M
Pedersen
C T
CT
Vistisen
L
L
D001272:Atmosphere; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide; D007501:Iron; D008280:Magnetics; D018535:Mars; D008903:Minerals; D010087:Oxides; D017640:Silicates; D014867:Water
D005290:Ferric Compounds; D008903:Minerals; D010087:Oxides; D017640:Silicates; D014867:Water; C000499:ferric oxide; D007501:Iron; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide