This image covers a portion of the northeast inner wall of the 100-kilometer diameter Columbus Crater, located in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars.

Layered sedimentary rocks are found on the crater walls and floor, and may have been deposited by water or by wind. These rocks have subsequently been eroded to expose their successive layers in cross-section. The near-infrared spectrometer CRISM has revealed that these layers contain various hydrated minerals.

Visible here is a north-facing slope (roughly 250 meters across) exposing finely layered sedimentary rock. In this enhanced color view, layers with a dark blue appearance may be intrinsically darker, or may have a texture that more effectively collects dark sand particles, than adjacent layers with a brighter appearance.

ID: PSP_010281_1510
date: 5 October 2008
altitude: 256 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/PSP_010281_1510
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
#Mars #science #NASA