PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA16706: Spherules in 'Yellowknife Bay'
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
 Spacecraft:  Curiosity
 Instrument:  Mastcam
 Product Size:  1501 x 844 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA16706.tif (3.802 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA16706.jpg (203.7 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Click here for larger version of PIA16706
Annotated Image
Click on the image for larger version

This image from the right Mast Camera (Mastcam) of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows roughly spherical features. These are called spherules, and they are common in this stratigraphic unit, the Sheepbed Unit, which defines the lower part of the sequences of strata exposed in "Yellowknife Bay." These features are interpreted as concretions, implying they formed in water that percolated through pores in the sediment. Spherical concretions have previously been discovered in other rocks on Mars.

Mastcam obtained these images on the 139th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's surface operations (Dec. 25, 2012). The image has been white-balanced to show what the rock would look like if it were on Earth.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Image Addition Date:
2013-01-15