Curiosity: Rolling along behind the ridge

2361-navcam-rearSol 2361, March 29, 2019. Leaving a zigzag track (click the composite image above), Curiosity continues to roll northeastward behind Vera Rubin Ridge, roughly paralleling its direction.

Sand dune “blow-overs” are visible to the left of the rover in the view below, which looks forward. These small dune fields hugging the ridge crest suggest that winds, either past or present, blow across the ridge from the other side. The wind carries sand grains up and over, then as the wind slackens after passing the ridge crest the grains fall to the ground.

Note several low, linear ridges of sand near the rover. These are also shaped by the winds, which have herded the sand grains into what geologists call “transverse eolian ridges,” or TARs for short. (Click either image to enlarge it.)

Sol 2361 raw images (from all cameras).

2361-navcam-ahead

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