It sure has :) - Read all about it here -

https://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/sam/samiam.html

deleted by creator

Just a feeling based on the fractures, that’s why I put it out there and asked the question. When we’ve seen mineral filled fractures in rocks on Mars the fractures have usually been in fairly straight lines following the crystalline structure in the host rock, or at separations of the sedimentary layers. It could be an optical illusion, but many of the fractures are far from straight in this target, almost like series of large crystals in a honeycomb like arrangement. The appearance of sandstone could just be a dust covering. Appreciate the feedback :)

Looking forward to hearing how the team call this float rock :)

Edit: fixed typo

The distance of the drive was 12.7 meters (41.7 ft) towards the Northwest.

During the drive the rover climbed 1.4 meters (4.6 ft).

The rover is now at site number 54.1010, stationed in the Northeast of a major science waypoint called ‘Bright Angel’.

The latest map (after a few more drives) should give you a clue ;)

https://mars.nasa.gov/maps/location/?mission=M20&site=jez&mapLon=77.30983839922636&mapLat=18.494271101553508&mapZoom=17&globeLon=77.42958068847659&globeLat=18.463327291058505&globeZoom=11&globeCamera=0,-9765.625,0,0,1,0&panePercents=0,100,0&on=Rover Waypoints$1.00,Rover Drive Path$1.00,Sampling Locations$1.00,Surface View$1.00,Helicopter Position$1.00,Flight Test Zone$1.00,Color Basemap$1.00,Grayscale Basemap$1.00,Northeast Syrtis Base Map$1.00

We’ve seen similar erosion at the bottom of some small hills where the hills slopes are protected by float rocks. I’m not a Geologist, but I’d guess it’s scoured out by circulating winds where the rocks are more prone to erosion (softer)

Link to mission update: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/sols-4205-4206-curiosity-would-like-one-of-each-please/

Looks that way (IMHO) I believe it likely that they drove over there to investigate the step in the bedrock. We’ll know more when they release the mission blog

Not intentional (this time) but they have done that in the past (a long time back)

Thank you for the additional information :).

You’re most welcome. I’ll post any updates from the science team, but they are fairly rare

@weariedfae

It is possible, as the rover is heading for Bright Angel (BA) it’s the west of the current location. This float rock could be from Bright Angel, so could have been washed down Neretva Vallis by floods etc ~3 billion years ago. BA appears to the white in the HIRISE images, BA is thought to be the oldest rocks the rover will encounter and probably predate the impact that formed the crater, so they could be of volcanic origin… Watch this space

Edit. fixed typos

Yes - 1 Sol is a Martian Solar Day ~39.5 minutes longer than an Earth day

The average duration of the day-night cycle on Mars - i.e., a Martian day - is 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35.244 seconds

It’s assembled from 15 overlapping images using MS-ICE. It’s fully a fully automated process for the assembly, but always seems to favour the terrain rather than the arm name plate. I guess there are more matching control points on the terrain 😊

The stitching software concentrates on the ground, not on the name tag :) Hence the §

I don’t have tools to scale these images properly, but I estimate the fractured rock is around 50cm to 75 cm wide

:)

I’ve had times when I felt I was shouting in the dark on a number of different platforms over the years, but those community don’t last long as they usually grow. The Mars communities here on Lemmy have grown nicely since I came over here from Reddit. I’m sort of paying it forward for all those that preceded me that gave me joy in the late 50’s and 60’s when I was young developing space nerd. I simply gather the data / images to satisfy my own curiosity. Sharing it with a few like minded souls, is only but a few clicks in this digital age :)

Just sharing the passion :)

MSR is expected to have up to 2 Ingenuity class helicopters. Each will be equipped with small wheels on each landing leg (for driving up to sample tubes) and have a small robotic arm (to pick up sample tubes)