Jake Matijevic (rock)
Jake Matijevic Rock
Jake Matijevic, nicknamed Jake M, is a pyramidal rock on Mars in Gale Crater near Mount Sharp. It stands about 25 cm tall and 40 cm wide and was found by the Curiosity rover in September 2012 on its way from the landing site. The rock’s approximate coordinates are 4.59°S, 137.44°E.
NASA named the rock after Jacob Matijevic (1947–2012), a important rover engineer who helped design Curiosity and earlier Mars rovers, and who died just after Curiosity landed.
Jake M was chosen as the first target for Curiosity’s contact instruments, MAHLI (the close-up camera) and APXS (an X-ray spectrometer).
Analyses in October 2012 suggested Jake M is an igneous rock rich in feldspar minerals such as sodium, aluminum, and potassium, with lower levels of magnesium, iron, and nickel than many other Martian rocks. This pattern points to mugearite, a rare sodium-rich volcanic rock.
The rock is a ventifact, with its pyramidal shape carved by wind-blown sand, and small surface cavities formed by wind-related processes.
On September 27, 2013, NASA scientists reported that Jake M is a mugearite and very similar to terrestrial mugearite rocks.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:39 (CET).