Sunlight illuminates jagged rock formations on the horizon in a new image from Mars released by NASA. The frame was captured by the Mars rover „Curiosity“ about an hour after sunrise with the Mastcam camera as the vehicle continued its climb up Mount Sharp.
Wind-sculpted rocks are visible in the distance. They are part of a layer that is significantly different from the other layers the rover has passed through. The formations are known as yardangs - ridges created when wind gradually wears away softer parts of the rock.
Rock layer holds traces of Mars' past
“The bright jagged peaks in the distance are a rock layer that is significantly different in appearance from any other layer the rover has passed through so far“, explains Ashwin Vasavada, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and the science manager for the “Curiosity“ mission.
He says the material may have originally been wind-blown sediment - sand or even volcanic ash that fell into the crater due to nearby volcanic activity. After it hardened into rock, wind carved the characteristic ridges.
The layer probably formed about three billion years ago and spans about 10 miles (16 kilometers) in the northwestern part of Mount Sharp. However, it does not appear to be part of a continuous sequence of layers that make up the mountain. According to Vasavada, it lies above a geological “unconformity“ - a period during which older layers were eroded before new material was deposited.
“Curiosity“ approaches unusual terrain
The rover landed in 2012 in Gale Crater near Mars' equator, and since 2014 has been climbing Mount Sharp, which is about three miles (5 kilometers) high. During its gradual movement, it has overcome a difference of more than a kilometer - the greatest height climbed by a Mars rover, according to NASA.
The layers of the mountain are important to scientists because they store data from different periods of the planet's geological history. Studies by “Curiosity“ have already provided information about ancient lakes and streams in the area when Mars was wetter and warmer.
NASA expects “Curiosity“ to reach the yardang layer in 2027 or 2028. Then the rover's instruments will be able to study the composition and origin of the unusual rock formations in more detail. The mission continues to study the geology and climate of Mars, as well as whether the planet had conditions suitable for microbial life in the past.
Another NASA rover is also working on Mars - “Perseverance“, which moves along the periphery of the Jezero crater in the northern hemisphere.
Source: vesti.bg