A view of Curiosity’s new digs called ‘the Kimberley’, named for a wilderness region in Western Australia. Taken on April 11 it shows tilted sandstones separated by windblown sands. The hilly rim of Gale Crater is seen in the distance. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s one-ton Curiosity rover has beamed back thousands of photos of amazing landscapes within Gale Crater since landing in August 2012. And that’s after driving only 3.8 miles, probably the distance to the nearest grocery store for many of us.

The Kimberley seen from orbit with the rover’s path highlighted. Curiosity rolled into the new location around the 589th Martian day or “sol”. Scientists selected the area based on pictures and studies made from orbit showing it to be rich in different rock types all exposed in the same location. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Earlier this month, the rover entered the Kimberley, a rise within the crater dotted with three buttes – Mounts Remarkable, Joseph and Christine – that exposes several varieties of rock scientists are eager to study. The area will be the focus of exploration for weeks to come before Curiosity resumes its journey to the slopes of Mount Sharp, a broad peak that rises 3 miles (5 km) from the crater’s floor.

Sandstones on Mars near the Kimberley photographed on March 29, 2014. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Kimberley is strewn with some of the most beautiful sandstones yet seen on Mars. Sandstones form when water or wind carries along grains of sand until depositing them in a layer at the bottom of a stream or on the ground as in a desert. Minerals within the pore spaces between the sand grains cement the grains together to create sandstone. Sometimes layers of deposited sand can build up one atop another helping to further compact the material into stone.

Differing degrees of resistance to erosion result in a stair-stepped pattern visible in this photo taken 1/4 mile northwest of the Kimberley on Feb. 25, 2014. Steeper steps result from more resistant rock, so the flat, tan surface (foreground) is a weakly resistant sandstone. The small steps to the right center are a bit more resistant, and the steeper steps near the top of the scene are even more resistant. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Cement materials vary greatly. Clay minerals build sandstones that crumble with a rap of a hammer and more quickly erode in the Martian winds. Quartz cement creates a tougher rock more resistant to erosion. If you’ve ever marveled at the sight of a western, canyon-filled landscape, you’re seeing the varying resistance of sandstone to erosion at work. The same thing happens on Mars:

Another spectacular view of tipped and tilted sandstones with Mt. Remarkable in the distance photographed on April 11, 2014. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“A major issue for us now is to understand why some rocks resist erosion more than other rocks, especially when they are so close to each other and are both likely to be sandstones,” said Michael Malin of Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. Malin added that variations in cement material of sandstones could provide clues to different types of wet environmental conditions in the area’s history.

Curious furrows are seen in the foreground in this photo taken at the Kimberley on April 3, 2014. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

At Yellowknife Bay, Curiosity’s last major waypoint, erosion had exposed both sandstones and a lower layer of mudstone that was once part of an ancient lake bottom. The rover will be tooling around the Kimberley for a while – why not join the exploration by periodically checking out the Mars raw image archive?

A conglomerate rock formation at the Kimberley formed of boulders and rocks that were transported from elsewhere – by river or glacier for instance – and cemented together. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ MSSS