NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover is steadily advancing up its target Mount Sharp. Currently, it is on the Greenheugh Pediment, a large flat area made of sandstone. Near the pediment is an area called the Gediz Vallis Ridge where there is debris from further up the mountain. The debris is quite large – boulder-sized – so it must have been transported by water, making it worth studying.

Scientists wanted to study them up close by driving along the pediment to take pictures of the ridge. However, the rover is going to need to find a new route up the mountain because of a hazard. Ventifacts are rocks that have been eroded by wind action, and this type of rock has caused damage to Curiosity’s wheels before. The Curiosity team calls these rock formations “gator-back rocks” because they look like scales.

The engineers would like to avoid more damage to the wheels, so over the next few weeks, the rover will climb back down the mountain and resume exploring an area with clay minerals and sulfates, more signs of past water action.

More Information

NASA press release