Dear Mission Support,

Yesterday we went to the West towards the rocks of the Middle Ages Cretaceous. I noticed that the large sandstone and mudstone walls of Ferron Sandstone Member were characterised by high erosion. Also, huge
boulders lay on the road. I assume they earlier broke off and rolled down as a result of erosion. The landscape resembled the images provided by the HiRISE camera of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from the Candor Chasma area. The images in question showed that the layers in the Chasma Canyon are not completely horizontal and are not homogeneous (Fig.1), (http://www.uahirise.org/nl/ESP_017174_1730). In case of the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone, it consists of a series of deltaic systems stacked one above another and not a single prograded delta (T. A. Ryer, 1981), (Fig.2). Therefore, one of the possibilities is that the layers of the
Chandor Chasma may be deposited by flowing rivers, through the Valles Marineris canyon.

 

Regards,

Natalia Zalewska
Commander and Crew geologist, MDRS Crew 176