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PIA26693. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this panorama of boxwork formations—the low ridges seen here with hollows in between them—using its Mastcam on Sept. 26, 2025, the 4,671st Martian day (sol) of the mission. These boxwork formations were created billions of years ago when water leaked through rock cracks. Minerals carried into the cracks later hardened; after eons of windblown sand eroding away the softer rock, the hardened ridges were left exposed.
The panorama is made up of 179 individual images that were stitched together after being sent back to Earth. This natural color view is approximately how the scene would appear to an average person if they were on Mars.
More information For more about Curiosity, visit science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity.
Key concepts aeolianpaleogeography
Provided by NASA
— Source: Phys.org (https://phys.org/news/2026-02-image-curiosity-rover-surveys-boxwork.html)
