"Sawblade" is the name given to the blocks with wavy textures in this image of Mars from NASA's ... [+]
Dragon scales. Wavy. Tire tracks. Those are terms NASA Curiosity rover team members used to describe a group of odd and fascinating rocks found in the Gale Crater on Mars. The formations are decorated with dramatic patterns resembling the woven fibers of a basket. They caught the eye of scientists who are now asking, “What is that?” An investigation is underway.
Curiosity snapped the rocks with its left navigation camera on April 14. “We have seen a lot of layered rocks over the last 12 years on Mars, but these ones really stand out by the dizzying pattern they trace on the rock surfaces,” wrote planetary scientist Michelle Minitti in a mission update on April 16. The team nicknamed one of the toothy-looking blocks “Sawblade.”
Sawblade is an enigma in the short term, but scientists are working to understand it. “The team is waiting on higher-res imagery to analyze Sawblade,” says NASA Jet Propulsion Lab spokesperson Andrew Good over email. “They’re considering a number of different geological processes that could potentially form that pattern, but it’s really too soon to say without a closer look.” Curiosity is using its onboard instruments to study the formation’s chemistry and texture. Minitti described the rocks as “wild new wonders.”
Minitti used the rover update to talk about two categories of observations made by Curiosity: typical and unusual. Typical observations include data and images collected on common types of rocks and landscape features. Sawblade, however, falls firmly into the unusual category. “We want ‘unusual’ observations because they might indicate a change in the rock type or chemistry that reveals a new geologic process or regime on Mount Sharp,” Minitti said.
Curiosity has been in residence on Mars since 2012. The rover is exploring Mount Sharp, a massive central mountain that rises 3.4 miles above the crater floor. Curiosity isn’t trying to summit the mountain, but is investigating the lower reaches.
The long-lived rover is on a mission to figure out if Mars might have once been able to host microbial life. NASA is particularly interested in Gale Crater’s history of water and what that might mean for past habitability. The rover recently explored what may be an ancient river channel. Sawblade could help scientists fill in details about the crater’s geology and the processes that shaped the rocks.
Curiosity is no stranger to strange rocks. Wind is a major factor in creating the wild and wonderful shapes of rocks on Mars. The rover once spotted a rock resembling an iconic Star Trek symbol. Space fans can follow the rover’s adventures through mission updates and a constantly updated feed of raw images. Spend some time looking at the photos and you’re bound to find something that catches your eye. It’s like watching a documentary that just keeps on going.
Sawblade should eventually give up its secrets. For now, it stands out as a mysterious and fascinating formation worthy of closer study. Curiosity has spent many years on the red planet, and Mars still finds ways to surprise us.
