curiosity is moving on from marker band valley after six months of exploring some really fascinating geology. our latest drive imaging (from sol 3778 of the mission, or march 23, 2023) gives us a spectacular look back at where we spent those six months, and a tantalizing glimpse of what lies ahead. the marker band - which we now know is probably a shallow lake deposit - forms the dark, flat surface in the mid-ground. if you look carefully, you can see curiosity's treadmarks across the flats.
looking back, we can see the buttes which helped orient ourselves during exploration: the pointy one (amapa), the haystacks (bolivar and deepdale), and a layered cliff (chenapau). these are all in our rearview mirror now, and it's a little saddening to see them disappearing into the distance. after spending so long with them, they were almost friends. soon they will be only memories.
in the foreground are the types of rocks which we will spend the next little while exploring. here they're spectacularly layered, but how far up the mountain do they continue? what are they telling us about gale crater's history? when will we see them change into something different? geologic exploration is always fun, always throwing you curveballs. hopefully we'll catch some of them.
it has been really exciting to have the chance to be on the team to explore this area - i remember talking about it with people who had done orbital mapping on it four years ago, not thinking that i would be one of the people helping do the science. life takes you in unexpected directions, you know? it's a gigantic privilege to wake up to work in a beautiful place like this, tethered to another planet by a stream of photons.
