Article Posted on : - Oct 06, 2010

Image of the meteorite that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity found and examined in September 2010.

WASHINGTON (BNS): NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has discovered another meteorite on the surface of Red Planet.

The rover camera has revealed the dark, toaster-sized rock images of the meteorite by the mid of September.

The science team used two tools on Opportunity's arm -- the microscopic imager and the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer -- to inspect the rock's texture and composition.

Scientists confirmed the presence of nickel and iron in the meteorite.

The team informally named the rock "Oileán Ruaidh" (pronounced ay-lan ruah), which is the Gaelic name for an island off the coast of northwestern Ireland.

Later, opportunity moved from the surface of Oileán Ruaidh to resume its journey toward the mission's long-term destination, Endeavour Crater.

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission is an effort to explore the surface of red planet through robots.