Looking into “London”

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Caption:

This mosaic image from the microscopic imager on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rock abrasion tool target, "London." The image was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on its 149th sol on Mars (June 24, 2004). Scientists "read" the geology of the image from bottom to top, with the youngest material pictured at the bottom of the image and the oldest material in the layers pictured at the top. Millimeter-scale layers run horizontally across the exposed surface, with two sliced sphere-like objects, or "blueberries" on the upper left and upper right sides of the impression. This material is similar to the evaporative material found in "Eagle Crater." However, the intense review of these layers in Endurance Crater is, in essence, deepening the water story authored by ancient Mars.

In Eagle Crater, the effects of water were traced down a matter of centimeters. Endurance Crater's depth has allowed the tracing of water's telltale marks up to meters. Another process that significantly affects martian terrain is muddying the water story a bit. Although it is clear that the layers in Endurance were affected by water, it is also evident that Aeolian, or wind, processes have contributed to the makeup of the crater.

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