Overview
- The Curiosity team reported on Friday that the rover found sets of broad, unusually flat depressions in two work areas on Mount Sharp that differ from typical small pits seen elsewhere on Mars.
- Engineers and scientists densely imaged the features with MAHLI and Mastcam to build stereomosaics and digital elevation models that map the depressions’ shape and depth.
- ChemCam laser spectroscopy and APXS measurements identified gray, rough, resistant layers inside the depressions that appear chemically distinct from the surrounding bedrock.
- The mission has not determined how the depressions formed and is continuing targeted imaging and spectroscopic analysis to test hypotheses about local stratigraphy and formation processes.
- The find underscores that Curiosity continues to reveal unexpected geology on Mount Sharp and could reshape interpretations of past depositional and diagenetic conditions in the area.