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Allende Opportunity woke up to May at the pitted rock Allende, named after the stop on El
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the mission’s current naming theme. Although science
team members had been referring to thee rocks as vesicular, they are now simply calling
them pitted. “Vesicular rocks are characterized by vesicles that form when magma or
lava degasses and leaves holes,” explained Deputy MER Principal Investigator. “But
now the science team is beginning to think that maybe the pits are caused by some kind
of chemical corrosion.” NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / ASU