The pointy features in this image may only be a few centimeters high and
less than 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) wide, but they generate major
scientific interest. Dubbed "Razorback," this chunk of rock sticks up at
the edge of flat rocks in "Endurance Crater." Based on their understanding
of processes on Earth, scientists believe these features may have formed
when fluids migrated through fractures, depositing minerals.
Fracture-filling minerals would have formed veins composed of a harder
material that eroded more slowly than the rock slabs.
Possible examination of these features using the instruments on NASA's
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity may further explain what these features
have to do with the history of water on Mars. This false-color image was
taken by the rover's panoramic camera.
