This is a high-resolution Digital Outcrop Model of the Terra_Firme MAHLI target in the lower sulfate unit of Gale crater, Mars.
This model is made using only 3 photos taken by the MAHLI instrument positionned on the robotic arm of the Curiosity rover.
These images were taken on sol 3800, in April 2023, and are available on the JPL MSL Raw images archive.
This fine sandstone shows exquisite small fin-like features that resisted to eons of wind erosion to produce those 3D structures that seem to defy gravity by protruding out of the surface. Possible explanation for those structures are they might be “windtails” resulting from harder diagenetic features resisiting erosion and “shadowing” the softer material behind, protecting it from aeolian erosion (still to be determined!).
Model by Gwénaël Caravaca
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