Forgive me for regarding the latest images from Spirit
as less-exciting than the initial MER-A, APX5 X-Ray graph
of the martian soil composition, but I'm beginnning to
see how a geologist like Nick Hoffman delights in this stuff.

I ENVY YOU, NICK!!! You must be going through a form of
ecstasy right now; an epiphany experience.

AND ME!! I'm no professional geologist, but neither am I
ignorant about the basics either! And the initial APX5 X-ray
graph results are...AWESOME!!

Go to this URL:

http://jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-images/jan-20-2004/captions/image-6.html

and download the webpages containing the graphs.

The APX5 graph has readouts, with high peaks for Mg, Si, Al, Ca, Ti, Fe (no surprises
here for these ubiquitious elements).
But....CHECK THE READOUTS FOR THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS!....S(sulfur)...Na(sodium)...
Cl(chlorine)...K(potassium)...
MAN!!..... THOSE ARE PROMINENT DETECTION PEAKS!! Sodium, potassium and Chlorine...SALTS!!
LOTSA LOTSA SALTS in that there martian soil.
Are we talkin' about an ancient, dried up, inland sea here, or WHAT???

And look at the prominent emission peaks detected for Cu (Copper), Zn (Zinc), and to the right
of the "scatter" peak is that an detection peak for a lanthanoid (rare earth element) or two?

AWESOME!!!

Jacob

"This planet has a 100-percent mortality rate."