Skip Navigation
menu

Images

Geologic Cross-Section

This graphic shows the geologic cross-section through lower Mount Sharp on Mars. The crater floor is in gray. The Murray Formation in green and the Hematite Ridge is in orange.

September 11, 2014

This graphic shows the geologic cross-section through lower Mount Sharp on Mars, corresponding to the segment A to A' shown in PIA18781. This cross-section provides an interpretation of the geologic relationship between the "Murray Formation," the crater floor sediments, and the hematite ridge. The cross-sectional view also highlights the impressive thickness of the Murray Formation - around 650 feet (200 meters). NASA's Curiosity rover will be exploring this formation.

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.

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech

ENLARGE

Related

This panorama is a mosaic of images taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the NASA Mars rover Curiosity while the rover was working at a site called "Rocknest" in October and November 2012.
More
This panorama is a mosaic of images taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the NASA Mars rover Curiosity while the rover was working at a site called "Rocknest" in October and November 2012.
Panoramic View From 'Rocknest' Position of Curiosity Mars Rover
The top of the rover's mast faces away in this May 11, 2016, self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which shows the vehicle at the "Okoruso" drilling site on lower Mount Sharp. The scene is ...
More
The top of the rover's mast faces away in this May 11, 2016, self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which shows the vehicle at the "Okoruso" drilling site on lower Mount Sharp. The scene is a mosaic of multiple images taken with the arm-mounted Mars Hands Lens Imager (MAHLI).
Curiosity Self-Portrait at 'Okoruso' Drill Hole, Mars, Facing Away
In this image, the scoop on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the larger soil particles that were too big to filter through a sample-processing sieve that is porous only to particles less than 0.006 inc...
More
In this image, the scoop on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the larger soil particles that were too big to filter through a sample-processing sieve that is porous only to particles less than 0.006 inches (150 microns) across.
Too Big for the Sieve
This stereo view from the Navigation Camera (Navcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a 360-degree panorama around the location where the rover spent its 1,000th Martian day, or sol, on Mars. T...
More
This stereo view from the Navigation Camera (Navcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a 360-degree panorama around the location where the rover spent its 1,000th Martian day, or sol, on Mars.
Panorama from Curiosity's Sol 1000 Location (Stereo)
This close-up view shows Curiosity's heat shield, which helped the rover survive the harrowing journey through the Martian atmosphere, on the surface of Mars.
More
Final Resting Spot for Curiosity's Heat Shield
Final Resting Spot for Curiosity's Heat Shield
Mars rover Curiosity, the centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, is coming together for extensive testing prior to its late 2011 launch.
More
Mars rover Curiosity with newly installed wheels.
Mars rover Curiosity with Newly Installed Wheels
This is an artist's concept of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover parachute system.
More
This is an artist's concept of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover parachute system.
Mars Science Laboratory Parachute, Artist's Concept
This image shows a globe of Mars with the locations of the four proposed landing sites noted in white font and the locations of prior landed missions in yellow font. Prior landed missions include: ...
More
This image shows a globe of Mars with the locations of the four proposed landing sites noted in white font and the locations of prior landed missions in yellow font. Prior landed missions include: Viking 1 and 2, Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity, and Phoenix. Proposed MSL landing sites include: Mawrth Vallis, Gale Crater, Holden Crater, and Eberswalde Crater.
Four Candidate Landing Sites
This global map of Mars was acquired on Aug. 2, 2012, by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
More
This global map of Mars was acquired on Aug. 2, 2012, by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Mars Weather Map, Aug. 2 (Labeled)
A lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse and Mars has a close encounter with a comet.
More
What's Up for October?
What's Up for October?
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., celebrate the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on the Red Planet. The rover touched down on Mars the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (morni...
More
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., celebrate the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on the Red Planet. The rover touched down on Mars the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (morning of Aug. 6 EDT).
Cheers for Curiosity
The leader of the entry, descent and landing team of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project, Adam Steltzner of JPL (left), accepts the 2013 Trophy for Current Achievement from the Smithsonian Natio...
More
The leader of the entry, descent and landing team of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project, Adam Steltzner of JPL (left), accepts the 2013 Trophy for Current Achievement from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum from museum director Gen. J. R. "Jack" Dailey on April 24, 2013.
National Air and Space Museum Trophy for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory
At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, and the spacecraft's descent stage have been enclosed inside the...
More
At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, and the spacecraft's descent stage have been enclosed inside the spacecraft's aeroshell.
Mars Science Laboratory Aeroshell with Curiosity Inside
With NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft sealed inside its payload fairing, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rides a tall pillar of smoke and flames as it soars over Space Laun...
More
With NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft sealed inside its payload fairing, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rides a tall pillar of smoke and flames as it soars over Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, after liftoff at 10:02 a.m. EST Nov. 26.
Atlas V In The Sky
The Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its laser and spectrometers to examine what chemical elements are in a drift of Martian sand during the mission's 7...
More
The Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its laser and spectrometers to examine what chemical elements are in a drift of Martian sand during the mission's 74th Martian day, or sol (Oct. 20, 2012).
Laser Hit on Martian Sand Target, Before and After
After more than a year without the use of the Curiosity Mars rover's drill, engineers have devised a workaround and tested it for the first time on the Red Planet.
More
After more than a year without the use of the Curiosity Mars rover's drill, engineers have devised a workaround and tested it for the first time on the Red Planet.
Curiosity's New Drilling Technique
It takes a whole team to operate Curiosity's arm. Pictured here are just a few of the team members who put their "muscle" to work every day to help operate Curiosity's arm on Mars.
More
It takes a whole team to operate Curiosity's arm. Pictured here are just a few of the team members who put their "muscle" to work every day to help operate Curiosity's arm on Mars.
Sifting through the "Martian Soil"
A green star marks the location of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover after a drive on the mission's 957th Martian day, or sol, (April 16, 2015). The map covers an area about 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) wide.
More
A green star marks the location of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover after a drive on the mission's 957th Martian day, or sol, (April 16, 2015). The map covers an area about 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) wide.
Curiosity's Position After 10 Kilometers
NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, stretches its robotic arm upward during Sept. 3, 2010, tests on a tilt table in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Labotatory, Pasadena, Calif. Test operators ...
More
NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, stretches its robotic arm upward during Sept. 3, 2010, tests on a tilt table in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Labotatory, Pasadena, Calif. Test operators in clean room garb monitor the motions simulating maneuvers that the rover might make while on a sloped surface on Mars.
Arm Stretch by Curiosity Mars Rover
Since landing on Mars in August 2012, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has fired the laser on its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument more than 100,000 times at rock and soil targets up to about 2...
More
Since landing on Mars in August 2012, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has fired the laser on its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument more than 100,000 times at rock and soil targets up to about 23 feet (7 meters) away.
Target for 100,000th Laser Shot by Curiosity on Mars
The NASA Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 120th Martian day, or sol (Dec. 7, 2012), to record this view of a rock outcrop informally named "Shaler."
More
The NASA Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 120th Martian day, or sol (Dec. 7, 2012), to record this view of a rock outcrop informally named "Shaler."
Layered Martian Outcrop 'Shaler' in 'Glenelg' Area
This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows details of rock texture and color in an area where the rover's Dust Removal Tool (DRT) brushed away dust that ...
More
This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows details of rock texture and color in an area where the rover's Dust Removal Tool (DRT) brushed away dust that was on the rock.
Close-up of Brushed Area on Martian Rock Target 'Ekwir_1'
Scientists are overjoyed after seeing the Curiosity rover’s first initial images showing a wheel resting on the Martian soil.
More
Scientists are overjoyed after seeing the Curiosity rover's first initial images showing a wheel resting on the Martian soil.
'We've Got Thumbnails'
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover took this close-up view of a rock nicknamed “Terra Firme” that looks like the open pages of a book on April 15, 2023, the 3,800th Martian day, or sol, of the mission usi...
More
This image was taken by Curiosity on Sol 3800 and shows a close-up view of a rock nicknamed "Terra Firme" that looks like the open pages of a book.
Curiosity Finds a Book-Like Rock
This video, presented at four times actual speed, shows a test using an engineering model of the soil scoop for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. The scoop dips to about 1.4 inches (3.5 centimeters) dee...
More
Test Scooping for Mars Rover Curiosity
Test Scooping for Mars Rover Curiosity

You Might Also Like

The agency is asking the NASA community to work together to develop a revised plan that leverages innovation and proven technology.
More
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
NASA has proven powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds, just as the Wright brothers proved it was possible on Earth.
More
After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
The agency established the board in May 2023 to evaluate the technical, cost, and schedule plans prior to confirmation of the mission’s design.
More
NASA Releases Independent Review's Mars Sample Return Report
NASA Releases Independent Review's Mars Sample Return Report
A pair of quakes in 2021 sent seismic waves deep into the Red Planet’s core, giving scientists the best data yet on its size and composition.
More
NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core
NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core
Ten sample tubes, capturing an amazing variety of Martian geology, have been deposited on Mars’ surface so they could be studied on Earth in the future.
More
NASA's Perseverance Rover Completes Mars Sample Depot
NASA's Perseverance Rover Completes Mars Sample Depot
Filled with rock, the sample tube will be one of 10 forming a depot of tubes that could be considered for a journey to Earth by the Mars Sample Return campaign.
More
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deposits First Sample on Mars Surface
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deposits First Sample on Mars Surface