NASA Releases 10-Mile Curiosity Panorama of Mars Yardangs on Mount Sharp
Updated
Updated · PetaPixel · Oct 9
NASA Releases 10-Mile Curiosity Panorama of Mars Yardangs on Mount Sharp
3 articles · Updated · PetaPixel · Oct 9
Summary
Six Mastcam images taken on Curiosity’s 4,982nd Martian day were stitched into a panorama showing sunlit yardang cliffs across Mount Sharp’s northwestern flank.
The 10-mile formation matters because scientists think wind carved it from hardened sediment, but its odd color and tilted layers suggest it may have been added later, possibly from volcanic ash.
Ashwin Vasavada said the layer sits above an unconformity—a gap where older layers eroded before newer material was deposited—making it distinct from most of Mount Sharp’s layered geology.
Curiosity, which landed in Gale Crater in 2012 and has climbed Mount Sharp since 2014, recently reached about 0.6 miles of elevation gain, the highest ascent by any Mars rover.
That climb helps researchers read Mars’ environmental history, from ancient lakes and streams to later drying, salt deposits and wind erosion that shaped the landscape seen in the new image.