A Bonanza of Clues About Mars . photonado

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A Bonanza of Clues About Mars

A swept Martian rock called "Bonanza King" can be seen in this image take by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover. This rock is located across the boundary that defines the base of Mount Sharp. The rover later partially drilled into and analyzed the rock, representing a first "taste" of the "Murray Formation" of rocks on the slopes of Mount Sharp, where the rover will continue exploring. The rock has been cleaned off with Curiosity's brush, revealing what is actually a gray-green color. A number of cross-cutting, light-toned veins, likely filled with sulfate minerals, can be seen on the rock. Similar features were observed in mudstones of "Yellowknife Bay," previously explored by Curiosity. This image was taken by the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam). It has been white-balanced to show how the scene would appear under Earth's lighting conditions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ .

Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Image released by NASA on 2014-09-11 as catalog id PIA18477