PIA06783: Layered Rocks in 'Columbia Hills'


Layered Rocks in ‘Columbia Hills’

Caption:

This black-and-white image shows the first layered rocks scientists have seen close up in Gusev Crater, where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit landed Jan. 4, 2004. While Spirit's twin rover, Opportunity, reached the stadium-size Endurance Crater on the other side of Mars and began exploring its many layered outcrops in early May, Spirit traveled more than 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) to get to this layered bedrock in the "Columbia Hills." Scientists are planning to conduct a study of these rocks to determine if they are volcanic or sedimentary in origin, and if they have been chemically altered. Spirit's panoramic camera took this image on sol 217 (Aug. 13, 2004).

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Instrument Host Spirit (MER-A) Opportunity (MER-B)
Host Type Rover
Instrument Panoramic Camera (Pancam)
Detector
Extra Keywords Crater, Grayscale, Volcano
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-08-20
Date in Caption 2004-01-04 2004-08-13
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Cornell
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06783
Identifier PIA06783