This image taken by the hazard-avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover investigating a bright patch of soil dubbed "Mont Blanc." The rover used its microscopic imager, located on the instrument deployment device, or arm, to take pictures of Mont Blanc on sol 59, two sols after it exited 'Eagle Crater.' Later, Opportunity observed the spot with its Moessbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers, also located on the arm. Though Mont Blanc appears unusually bright amidst the dark plains of Meridiani Planum, scientists believe it is the same red dust that blankets most of the surface of Mars. The soil patch appears to have collected downwind of Eagle Crater. The rover is facing northwest.

This cylindrical mosaic taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 82 shows the view south of the large crater dubbed "Bonneville." The rover will travel toward the Columbia Hills, seen here at the upper left. The rock dubbed "Mazatzal" and the hole the rover drilled in to it can be seen at the lower left. The rover's position is referred to as "Site 22, Position 32." This image was geometrically corrected to make the horizon appear flat.

This 3-D cylindrical-perspective mosaic taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 82 shows the view south of the large crater dubbed "Bonneville." The rover will travel toward the Columbia Hills, seen here at the upper left. The rock dubbed "Mazatzal" and the hole the rover drilled in to it can be seen at the lower left. The rover's position is referred to as "Site 22, Position 32." This image was geometrically corrected to make the horizon appear flat.

This is the left-eye version of the 3-D cylindrical-perspective mosaic showing the view south of the martian crater dubbed "Bonneville." The image was taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The rover will travel toward the Columbia Hills, seen here at the upper left. The rock dubbed "Mazatzal" and the hole the rover drilled in to it can be seen at the lower left. The rover's position is referred to as "Site 22, Position 32." This image was geometrically corrected to make the horizon appear flat.

This is the right-eye version of the 3-D cylindrical-perspective mosaic showing the view south of the martian crater dubbed "Bonneville." The image was taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The rover will travel toward the Columbia Hills, seen here at the upper left. The rock dubbed "Mazatzal" and the hole the rover drilled in to it can be seen at the lower left. The rover's position is referred to as "Site 22, Position 32." This image was geometrically corrected to make the horizon appear flat.

J'ai du mal à saisir les différences entre les 2-3 dernières images, qui semblent identiques
En tout cas, toujours trés chouette, et belle balade en perspective vers les Columbia Hills

This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's front hazard-avoidance camera focuses on the rock dubbed "Bounce," which the rover's airbag-wrapped lander hit upon landing. Though the plains surrounding Opportunity's "Eagle Crater" landing site are relatively free of any hazards that would have hindered landing, the packaged rover managed to bounce down on one of the only rocks in the vicinity. The rock measures approximately 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) across.
Bounce -- a rock that differs significantly from the light rocks in the Eagle Crater outcrop -- is currently being investigated by Opportunity. So far, the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer has revealed that it is rich in hematite. In the coming sols, a target yet to be chosen on the rock will be examined by the rover's spectrometers, then ground into by the rock abrasion tool. After the grind, the spectrometers will assess the chemical content of the exposed rock.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the images that make up this mosaic with its microscopic imager on sol 82. The mosaic reveals the drilled surface of the target called "New York" on the rock dubbed "Mazatzal." The rock abrasion tool ground for 3 hours and 45 minutes to create this 3.8 millimeter-deep (0.15 inch) hole. The exposed area is 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter.
Mazatzal was an interesting rock to grind because it has a lighter tone than the previously ground rocks "Adirondack" and "Humphrey," and because it looks different from its surrounding environment. Scientists hypothesized that Mazatzal's surface might be covered with a rind of weathered material. They drilled through this very top layer to reveal the underlying rock.

Because Mazatzal's surface was not even, the left half of the rock was penetrated more deeply than the right. As can be seen in this image, the right, darker portion of the rock is still covered by the rind material. Spirit completed a second grind at this location at a different angle to remove the remaining veneer from the right side and create an even deeper hole. Images of this second grind will be sent back to Earth in the next sol or two.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this image of the rock dubbed "Mazatzal" with its hazard-avoidance camera on sol 82. It was taken after the rover's rock abrasion tool completed a 3 hour and 45 minute grind to produce the hole on Mazatzal's surface. The wheel tracks that can be seen at the base of the rock are the result of rover positioning.

This mosaic, created from four images taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's microscopic imager, outlines the target on "Bounce" rock that the rover's rock abrasion tool will abrade on sol 66.
This 6-centimeter-square (2.4-inch-square) area was chosen by the rock abrasion tool team as the most advantageous area for grinding.

Preliminary results from the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer show that Bounce is rich in hematite. Bounce contains spherules, or "blueberries," like some rocks in the "Eagle Crater" outcrop. However, Bounce's spherules appear smaller and may be formed by an entirely different process. The blueberries seen in the outcrop are typically 3 to 4 millimeters (0.12 to 0.16 inch) each. A good example of a cluster of micro-berries can be seen just left of center in this image. Scientists are currently studying all of the rock's features as well as its chemical content. After next sol's grinding operation, the team will be able to compare the rock's exterior and interior chemical compositions.

This microscopic image mosaic was created on sol 85 after NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit completed a second grind with its rock abrasion tool at the target "New York" on the rock named "Mazatzal." The three-hour, 23-minute grind occurred on sol 83.
This grind was performed at the same location but at a slightly different angle than the first grind, which occurred on sol 82. This second drilling now reveals a full and somewhat deeper circle of underlying rock that will allow for a more complete analysis of the interior of the rock