Barnacle Bill rock
Sojourner rover next to the "Barnacle Bill" rock
Feature typeRock
Coordinates19°20′N 33°33′W / 19.33°N 33.55°W / 19.33; -33.55

Barnacle Bill is a 40-centimetre (16 in) rock on Mars in Ares Vallis. It was the first rock on Mars analyzed by the Sojourner rover using its Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer. The encounter occurred during Sol 3 of the Mars Pathfinder mission on the surface of Mars and took ten hours to complete.

"Barnacle Bill" rock - close-up

Early analysis of data sent from Sojourner led scientists to speculate that the rock was andesite.

The name was inspired in mission scientists by barnacle-like structures on the rock that appeared in transmitted photos.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barnacle Bill (Martian rock).

External links

Notable rocks on Mars
Adirondack
(Spirit) 		Barnacle Bill
(Sojourner) 		Bathurst Inlet
(Curiosity) 		Big Joe
(Viking) 		Block Island
(Opportunity) M 		Bounce
(Opportunity) 		Coronation
(Curiosity) 		El Capitan
(Opportunity)
Esperance
(Opportunity) 		Goulburn
(Curiosity) 		Heat Shield
(Opportunity) M 		Home Plate
(Spirit) 		Hottah
(Curiosity) 		Jake Matijevic
(Curiosity) 		Last Chance
(Opportunity) 		Link
(Curiosity)
Mackinac Island
(Opportunity) M 		Mimi
(Spirit) 		Oileán Ruaidh
(Opportunity) M 		Pot of Gold
(Spirit) 		Rocknest 3
(Curiosity) 		Shelter Island
(Opportunity) M 		Tintina
(Curiosity) 		Yogi
(Sojourner)
The table above contains clickable links M = Meteorite - (
This box:
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Mars Pathfinder
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