http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16550

Target Name: Mars Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun) Mission: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Spacecraft: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Instrument: Mastcam Product Size: 2438 x 1141 pixels (width x height) Produced By: Malin Space Science Systems Full-Res TIFF: PIA16550.tif (8.349 MB) Full-Res JPEG: PIA16550.jpg (481.8 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:

Figure 1 Figure 2 Click on an individual image for larger views The NASA Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 120th Martian day, or sol (Dec. 7, 2012), to record this view of a rock outcrop informally named "Shaler."

The outcrop's striking layers, some at angles to each other in a pattern called crossbedding, made it a target of interest for the mission's science team. The site is near where three types of terrain meet at a place called "Glenelg," inside Gale Crater.

The area covered by the image spans about 3 feet (90 centimeters) in the foreground. Figure 1 includes a 10-centimeter (4-inch) scale bar.

The image has been white-balanced to show what the rock would look like if it were on Earth. Figure 2 is a raw-color version, showing what the rock looks like on Mars to the camera.

Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, developed, built and operates Mastcam. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.

For more about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl, http://www.nasa.gov/mars, and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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