Mineral Abundances in Martian Soils
Data from instruments onboard the Mars Exploration Rovers
provide researchers with mineralogical details of the average dark
soils on the Gusev crater plains and on Meridiani Planum. The
procedure uses Mössbauer (MB) data for iron-bearing minerals,
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) data for iron-absent
minerals, and MiniTES thermal infrared spectra for silica and clays.
http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Jan11/mineralogy-Mars.html
Mineral Abundances in Martian Soils
Soil data from two areas on
opposite sides of Mars visited by
the MER rovers show that there
are more igneous minerals
(about 70-85% depending on the
model) at each location (Gusev
and Meridiani) than alteration
minerals (about 15-30%). These
percentages may actually
bracket the actual mineral
abundances.
http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Jan11/mineralogy-Mars.html