Sedimentary Rocks inside Terby Crater

The sedimentary history of Mars is important to understanding climate change and the evolution of Mars. Sedimentary rocks consist of fine particles carried by the atmosphere and/or water and deposited in generally flat-lying layers, which become indurated (turn into rock) over time.

This image covers some steep slopes with good exposures of the bedrock layers, revealing diverse color and textures. A detailed study of many such exposures along with compositional data can be used to reconstruct the sequence of events and interpret the geologic history.

The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 51.8 centimeters [20.4 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 155 centimeters [61.0 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.