N165 — Mediated Wiki

{{Short description|Rock on Mars}} {{Infobox feature on celestial object |name = Coronation rock |image = MarsCuriosityRover-CoronationRock-N165-20120817-crop.jpg |caption = Coronation rock on Mars – the first target of the [[Chemistry and Camera complex|ChemCam]] [[Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy|laser analyzer]] on the [[Curiosity rover|''Curiosity'' rover]] (August 17, 2012) |type = [[Rock (geology)|Rock]] |coordinates = {{coord|4.59|S|137.44|E|globe:mars_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} }} '''N165''' ('''Coronation rock''') is a [[Rock (geology)|rock]] on the surface of [[Aeolis Palus]] in [[Gale (crater)|Gale Crater]] on the planet [[Mars]] near the [[Bradbury Landing|landing site (Bradbury Landing)]] of the [[Curiosity rover|''Curiosity'' rover]].<ref name=pcw>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/261084/mars_rockzapping_laser_explained.html |title=Christina DesMarais - Mars Rock-Zapping Laser Explained - PC World |access-date=2012-08-18 |archive-date=2012-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908021349/http://www.pcworld.com/article/261084/mars_rockzapping_laser_explained.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NASA-20120819a">{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Guy |last2=Agle |first2=D.C. |title=Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity Mission Status Report |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-248 |date=August 19, 2012 |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=September 3, 2012 }}</ref> The "approximate" site coordinates are: {{coord|4.59|S|137.44|E|globe:Mars}}. On August 19, 2012, the rock was the first target of the rover's laser instrument, [[Chemistry and Camera complex|ChemCam]],<ref name=pcw/> which can analyze targets at a distance using a laser and spectrometer.<ref name=pcw/> A [[Twitter]] feed for the rock was created, featuring an anthropomorphized account of its experiences.<ref name=twit>{{Cite web |url=http://io9.com/5936005/read-the-increasingly-desperate-tweets-of-martian-rock-n165-as-it-is-zapped-by-curiosity |title=Lauren Davis - Read the increasingly desperate tweets of Martian rock .. - IO9 |access-date=2012-08-20 |archive-date=2014-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717231654/http://io9.com/5936005/read-the-increasingly-desperate-tweets-of-martian-rock-n165-as-it-is-zapped-by-curiosity |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its posts include a humor themed mix of social interaction and Mars content such as "''Did you know I was born in a volcano? Basalts like me come from lava. That's why we call it Olympus Mom''".<ref name=twit/><ref>[https://twitter.com/N165Mars/status/238946631393882112 Twitter - N165 aka Coronation]</ref>

The goal of this initial use of the laser on Mars was to serve as target practice for characterizing the instrument. The rock was primarily selected for its proximity to the rover, rather than any intrinsic scientific value. The rock was lasered thirty times over ten seconds.<ref name="NASA-20120819a" /> The mission's investigators thought the rock was a [[basalt]] prior to lasing, which was confirmed by preliminary results.<ref name="BBC-20120817">{{cite news |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |title=Nasa's Curiosity rover prepares to zap Martian rocks |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19302886 |date=August 17, 2012 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |access-date=September 3, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16089.html |title=NASA - Coronation's Chemicals |access-date=2012-08-24 |archive-date=2021-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117114205/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16089.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ChemCam team reported positive results; they worked on the instrument for eight years before getting to use it on Mars.<ref name="NASA-20120819a" />

== Images == <gallery> Image:PIA16075-Curiosity Rover ChemCam-20120819.jpg|First Laser Test on a Mars Rock, N165, by [[Chemistry and Camera complex|ChemCam]] on the [[Curiosity Rover|''Curiosity'' rover]] (August 19, 2012). Image:Mars Curiosity Rover-Coronation Rock-N165.jpg|Coronation [[Rock (geology)|rock]] on Mars - first target of the [[Chemistry and Camera complex|ChemCam]] [[Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy|laser analyzer]] on the [[Curiosity rover|''Curiosity'' rover]] (August 19, 2012). Image:PIA16089.jpg|First [[Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy|Laser Spectrum]] of [[chemical elements]] from [[Chemistry and Camera complex|ChemCam]] on the [[Curiosity rover|''Curiosity'' rover]] ([[Coronation rock|"Coronation" rock]], August 19, 2012). </gallery> {{Wide image|PIA16072-MarsCuriosityRover-20120809.jpg|750px|Panorama of [[Rock (geology)|rocks]] near the [[Curiosity Rover|''Curiosity'' rover]] - near [[Bradbury Landing]] (August 9, 2012).}}

==See also== {{commons category|Rocks on Mars}} {{commons category|Gale Crater}} {{div col|colwidth=20em}} * [[Aeolis quadrangle]] * [[Composition of Mars]] * [[Geology of Mars]] * [[List of rocks on Mars]] * [[Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory]] {{div col end}}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20191010210514/https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/home/ ''Curiosity'' Rover - Official Site] *[https://mars.nasa.gov/ NASA - Mars Exploration Program] *[http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=4546 NASA - N165 - ''After the Laser Shots''] *[http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-248 NASA - N165 - ''Rover Zaps Rock''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119003900/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-248 |date=2022-01-19 }} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20131220114814/https://twitter.com/N165Mars Twitter - N165 ("Coronation" rock)] *[http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/ops/hap_5.jpg Volcanic rock classification]

[[Category:Aeolis quadrangle]] [[Category:Mars Science Laboratory]] [[Category:Rocks on Mars]]