Greenheugh pediment, an interesting plain in Gale Crater on Mars. Orbital observations have revealed some pretty cool-looking terrains that NASA’s Curiosity rover is slowly exploring. The last piece of land that was photographed and sent home is called the “crocodile back” land, and the reason is clear in the photos.
Lauren Edgar says in a NASA mission update post, “Before we got to the Greenheugh pediment, the team was intrigued by the ‘washboard texture’ preserved on its surface as described in the orbital images.” quite surprising, and the unofficial description of this ‘alligator-back terrain’ seems very apt!
The first image from this location reached by Curiosity last weekend shows sharp pyramid-like rocks separated by ridges. While we don’t expect to find any crocodiles on the Red Planet, we can say that this description certainly seems appropriate. Curiosity is now scanning the rocky terrain to understand its composition, and scientists will try to decipher the formation with this data.
For scientists around the world to understand the erosion taking place in this crocodile-backed terrain, many photos will need to be combined into one large mosaic. Now that Mars enters its dusty season, the rover will also search for dust whirlwinds, also called “devil’s whirlwinds,” while it’s there.
Gale Crater used to be an ancient lake, and as you climb the peak at central Curiosity, Mount Sharp, you’re looking at older and older rocks and gaining new insights into what Mars was like billions of years ago.
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