MPF Rover APXS: Mars Rock, Soil, and Atmosphere Measurements

27 measurements from the Mars Pathfinder Rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument. The collection includes nine rock measurements, seven soil measurements, and eleven atmosphere measurements taken on various mission sols. The data was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyze elemental composition of Martian rocks based on APXS measurements.
• Compare soil and rock geochemistry based on the described sample types.
• Study background cosmic ray levels based on atmosphere measurements taken on Sol 1.
• Assess instrument noise characteristics based on electronics test measurements.

Strengths

• 27 distinct measurements across rock, soil, and atmosphere targets.
• 173 individual data files provide granular instrument readings.
• Data originates from the NASA Mars Pathfinder Rover mission.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from the Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument on the Mars Pathfinder Rover.

Geography

Mars