[X] My Assistant

[PaulH51]

Welcome to Route 66... Er, make that Site 66
Drive 0000 on Sol 1812. Roughly stitched L-NavCam using MS ICE
Midnight Planets reporting it as ~5.6m ESE (115º) link

[Floyd]

The really fine laminations indicate suspension fallout in reasonably deep still water, so the crater was experiencing a wet environment when this level was laid down. Given the original permeability of the deposits my horribly unreliable intuition suspects that the hematite developed during a dry cycle via a mixing interface between groundwater and water infiltrating from a disconnected stream, fed by acidic meltwater at the beginning of the volcanic period that gave rise to the sulphate formation. Development in an open rather than closed environment.

I assume the spot was cleared of dust by laser blasts, not by brushing? If so I don't think I have ever seen this type of cleaning. Might the shiny surface be hematite? Not berries, but sheets???

[PaulH51]

I assume the spot was cleared of dust by laser blasts, not by brushing? If so I don't think I have ever seen this type of cleaning. Might the shiny surface be hematite? Not berries, but sheets???

It appears to be LIBS of an AEGIS target. Here is the before and after LIBS. The eroded surface seems to have small 'facets' for want of a better description. Certainly an interesting site...