List of rocks on Mars
Encyclopedia
This is a list of named rocks on Mars
alphabetically by mission.
Names for Mars rocks are largely unofficial designations used for ease of discussion purposes, as the International Astronomical Union
's official Martian naming system
declares that objects smaller than 100m (330ft) are not to be given official names. Because of this some less significant rocks seen in photos returned by Mars rovers have been named more than once, and others have even had their names changed later due to conflicts or even matters of opinion.
Viking program
Mars Pathfinder
Mars Exploration Rover
Mars Exploration Rover
Often rocks are named after astronaut's or NASA employee's children or family members. The name "Jazzy" was taken from a girl named Jazzy who grew up in Grand Junction, CO, USA. Her father worked for NASA and contributed to the findings and naming of the rocks.
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
alphabetically by mission.
Names for Mars rocks are largely unofficial designations used for ease of discussion purposes, as the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
's official Martian naming system
Planetary nomenclature
Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. The task of assigning official names to features is taken up by the International...
declares that objects smaller than 100m (330ft) are not to be given official names. Because of this some less significant rocks seen in photos returned by Mars rovers have been named more than once, and others have even had their names changed later due to conflicts or even matters of opinion.
Viking programViking programThe Viking program consisted of a pair of American space probes sent to Mars, Viking 1 and Viking 2. Each spacecraft was composed of two main parts, an orbiter designed to photograph the surface of Mars from orbit, and a lander designed to study the planet from the surface...
- Big Joe
- Bonneville
- Delta Rock
- Midas Muffler
- Mr. Badger
- Mr. Moley
- Mr. Rat
- Mr. Toad
- Patch Rock
Mars PathfinderMars PathfinderMars Pathfinder was an American spacecraft that landed a base station with roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight wheeled robotic rover named Sojourner.Launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II booster a...
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Matterhorn The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points... |
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Yogi Rock Yogi Rock is a rock on Mars that was discovered during the Mars Pathfinder mission in 1997, and named by Geoffrey A. Landis. The rocks found on the mission were named after famous icons and figures, and Yogi Rock was thought to resemble the head of a bear looking away from the spacecraft... |
Mars Exploration RoverMars Exploration RoverNASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars...
SpiritSpirit roverSpirit, MER-A , is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity , landed on the other side of the planet...
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Home Plate (Mars) Home Plate is a plateau roughly 90 m across within the Columbia Hills, Mars. It is informally named for its similarity in shape to a baseball home plate. Home Plate is a rocky outcrop that appears to show layered features.... (geological feature) |
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Pot of Gold (Mars) Pot of Gold is the nickname for a knobby, softball-sized rock in Gusev Crater on Mars. During an examination by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on June 25, 2004 Hematite was first detected by Spirit, suggesting a watery past on Mars.... |
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Mars Exploration RoverMars Exploration RoverNASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars...
OpportunityOpportunity roverOpportunity, MER-B , is a robotic rover on the planet Mars, active since 2004. It is the remaining rover in NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission...
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Heat Shield Rock Heat Shield Rock is a basketball-sized iron-nickel meteorite found on Mars by the Mars rover Opportunity in January 2005. The meteorite was formally named Meridiani Planum meteorite by the Meteoritical Society in October, 2005 .-Discovery:Opportunity encountered the meteorite entirely by chance,... (iron meteorite Iron meteorite Iron meteorites are meteorites that consist overwhelmingly of nickel-iron alloys. The metal taken from these meteorites is known as meteoric iron and was one of the earliest sources of usable iron available to humans.-Occurrence:... ) |
Last Chance (Mars) Last Chance is a layered rock outcrop found on Mars, discovered by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in March 2004. The rock lies within the outcrop near the rover's landing site at Meridiani Planum, Mars.... |
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Often rocks are named after astronaut's or NASA employee's children or family members. The name "Jazzy" was taken from a girl named Jazzy who grew up in Grand Junction, CO, USA. Her father worked for NASA and contributed to the findings and naming of the rocks.
See also
- List of mountains on Mars
- List of craters on Mars
- Planetary nomenclaturePlanetary nomenclaturePlanetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. The task of assigning official names to features is taken up by the International...