Secrets of ‘Hidden Valley’ on Mars

An image taken at the "Hidden Valley" site, en-route to Mount Sharp, by NASA's Curiosity rover. A variety of mudstone strata in the area indicate a lakebed deposit, with river- and stream-related deposits nearby. Decoding the history of how these sedimentary rocks were formed, and during what period of time, was a key component in the confirming of the role of water and sedimentation in the formation of the floor of Gale Crater and Mount Sharp.

This image was taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Curiosity on the 703rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

An unannotated version can be viewed at http://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/?ImageID=6574.

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

More information about Curiosity is online at http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/.