MER APXS Oxide Abundance: Mars Rover Geochemical Data

Mars Exploration Rover oxide abundance data derived from APXS Reduced Data Record products. The dataset consists of one file for each rover, updated approximately three months after new APXS RDR data appear in a MER release. National Aeronautics and Space Administration produced this dataset, last updated on March 13, 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze Martian surface geochemistry based on oxide abundance data
• Compare elemental composition between rover landing sites based on separate rover files
• Track temporal updates in geochemical readings based on the three-month release lag described

Strengths

• Data is derived from the APXS Reduced Data Record (RDR) products, a primary scientific instrument on the Mars Exploration Rovers
• Update process is described: oxide data are revised in the following release approximately three months after new APXS RDR data appear

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from APXS Reduced Data Record (RDR) products on the Mars Exploration Rovers

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:20:45.822449; freshness should be verified

Geography

Mars