Overview
- After a months‑long close study, new images reveal hundreds of small nodules clustered along ridge walls and in sandy hollows.
- Rover drill samples show clay minerals in ridge material and carbonate minerals in hollows, clarifying how the formations developed.
- A recent sample was processed with wet‑chemistry reagents to enhance the search for organic molecules, without evidence of biology.
- Mission scientists say the web‑like ridges and nodules are mineral features, as the exact reasons for their distribution remain under investigation.
- Curiosity is slated to leave the boxwork terrain in March and proceed into sulfate‑bearing layers that record Mars’ later drying history.