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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Before & After: Vera Rubin Ridge HiRISE color and CRISM hematite band depth

Before & After: Vera Rubin Ridge HiRISE color and CRISM hematite band depth
Before & After: Vera Rubin Ridge HiRISE color and CRISM hematite band depth
Before & After: Vera Rubin Ridge HiRISE color and CRISM hematite band depth Curiosity explored Vera Rubin Ridge at the end of 2017 and through 2018. The ridge had long been a target for the rover because of its interesting geomorphology and because of a strong hematite signal in orbital spectroscopic images. Use the slider to compare HiRISE and CRISM views of the ridge. The yellow line shows the rover's path as of sol 2162 (5 Sep 2018).

The HiRISE image is ESP_042682_1755. Click here for an enlargement.

The CRISM map shows the strength of the 860 nm absorption seen by CRISM, which is diagnostic of the mineral hematite. Click here for an enlargement. Brighter reds correspond to deeper absorption. This parameter map was processed to 12 m/pixel using an along-track over-sampled CRISM image, FRT00021C92. Curiosity also observed hematite all along its traverse in the Murray formation leading up to the ridge, but these detections were more difficult to see from orbit due to sub-pixel mixing with sand and dust in the rocks below the ridge. CRISM data processing courtesy Valerie Fox and Raymond Arvidson, Washington University in St. Louis. NASA / JPL / UA / JHUAPL / CRISM map courtesy Valerie Fox, Ray Arvidson, and Abigail Fraeman