Sedimentary Debris, Gale Crater. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University, R. Luk.
Today’s image shows the mound of debris layered across the floor of Mars’ Gale Crater. This debris mound, which ranges in height from 2.8 to 3.4 miles above the floor of the crater, surrounds a central peak, visible in the back left of the image. Scientists posit that the layers of sedimentary rock could function as an archive of 2 billion years of geological activity on the planet. It will be up to Curiosity, the new Mars Science Laboratory rover, to explore this mound of sedimentary deposits and report back on the constituent elements of each layer.
For more on the MSL landing site, see the Mars Odyssey & THEMIS Gale Crater’s History Book, NASA’s Gale Crater, MSL Landing Site Images, and NASA’s “The Strange Attraction of Gale Crater.”
