General Rover Images
The image is a view to the northeast
of the lander and is annotated to show the variety of rocks in this landing site and what
they tell us. The red arrows point to rounded boulders and rocks, thought to have been
shaped by the forces of water in flood (rough edges knocked off by the tumbling action of
the water). The blue arrows indicate rocks with sharp edges and points, most probably
ejected from nearby impact craters and/or ancient volcanic activity. The white areas (of
which Scooby Doo is one) are believed to be deposits left behind by evaporating water, or
aggregates of materials fused together by the action of water.
"Yogi" Rock
The image is the clearest image yet of Yogi (with
the Sojourner rover taking its Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer measurement). It clearly
shows the "two-toned" surface of this large rock. The nature of this color
difference is not known, however. It might consist of wind-blown dust accumulated on the
surface (the rock is leaning into the prevailing wind) or might be evidence of a break
from a larger boulder as it was deposited in the ancient flood that scoured this area.
This false color image of the area surrounding Yogi shows
clear evidence of "scalloped" features in the soil associated with wind-blown
dust. Such evidence indicates clearly the direction of prevailing winds in this area, and
gives further proof of the aeolian nature of erosional processes on Mars.