Heat Shield Rock | |
---|---|
Type | Iron |
Group | Probably IAB |
Composition | 93% Iron, 7% nickel, trace of germanium (~300 ppm) & gallium (<100 ppm) |
Region | Meridiani Planum |
Coordinates | 1°54′S 354°30′E / 1.9°S 354.5°E |
Observed fall | No |
Found date | January 2005 |
Alternative names | Meridiani Planum meteorite |
Related media on Wikimedia Commons |
Heat Shield Rock is a basketball-sized iron-nickel meteorite found on the Meridiani Planum plain of Mars by the Mars rover Opportunity in January 2005.
Informally referred to as "Heat Shield Rock" by the Opportunity research team, the meteorite was formally named Meridiani Planum meteorite by the Meteoritical Society in October 2005 (meteorites are always named after the place where they were found).[1]