Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmed43b0936r&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #ED43B-0936
Physics
0800 Education, 0850 Geoscience Education Research
Scientific paper
Rock Around the World (RATW) is an educational outreach program designed to inspire and teach children about science by allowing them to participate in the scientific process. Since the creation of the Rock Around the World program in January 2004, we have received 7,929 (to date) rocks from children and adults alike from around the world. The accumulation of almost 8,000 rock samples has exponentially expanded the Arizona State University earth-based rock library into a large collection of samples useful for scientific investigation of Earth and Mars. This library currently supports research that is being conducted by the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer, the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System and the two Mini- Thermal Emission Spectrometer instruments that are onboard the Mars Exploration Rovers. The collection of spectral data and the organization of information associated with each rock sample into a database has continued for the past two and a half years. In order to further the benefit of the program to both educators and scientists alike, this data is being integrated into a spectral library and analysis tool developed by the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University. Once the spectrum of the sample is acquired, it is possible to deconvolve, or unmix, the spectrum to determine the abundances of each mineral present in the rock. This is a tool that is currently in use by the visitors to our Rock Around the World website. The deconvolution results are stored in the database, along with the corresponding rock sample information. The deconvolution of the RATW spectra will allow scientists to know the mineral percentages, such as hematite, for every spectrum within the RATW spectral library. This will allow for samples of interest to scientists to be quickly identified for use in their investigations. From this database, it will also be possible to make a mineral map correlating minerals with location on the planet. This can be used to demonstrate how different rock compositions are associated with different geographic locations.
Christensen Per Rex
Daub G. A.
Klug S. L.
Rogers Dennis L.
Rogers T. A.
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