Barnacle Bill (Martian rock)

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.^[1] The encounter occurred during Sol 3 of the Mars Pathfinder mission on the surface of Mars and took ten hours to complete.

Feature typeRock

Coordinates19.33°N 33.55°W / 19.33; -33.55

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Barnacle Bill rock

Sojourner rover next to the "Barnacle Bill" rock
Feature type	Rock
Coordinates	19.33°N 33.55°W / 19.33; -33.55

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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.