11th November 2014 Sol 806

Mars Science Laboratory has changed our view of Mars: following the 2 Viking landers of 1976 and the Pathfinder Lander in 1997 we had an idea that Mars was predominantly made of basaltic igneous rocks.  However, on the basis of what we now know from our 10 km of travels in Gale Crater we are now a lot more receptive to the idea that much of Mars is made of sedimentary layers deposited by water.  So looking back at this first colour image from the Viking 2 lander (which landed near Mie Crater in Utopia Planitia in the northern plains in 1976) some of the samples – like the one in the white  inset lines – may be layered.  Accurately determining the origins of rocks without getting right up close is very difficult, MSL will stimulate us to look again at what we think we know about Mars.