Geologic diversity at 'John Klein'

Images of Curiosity's first drilling site, "John Klein," show the diversity of rock types available to NASA from which the rover team could choose to sample. Enlargements of the rocks seen on the right show the rock types, including a "bread crusted" rock in enlargement A, whose surface is fractured in a polygonal pattern. This generally reflects a differential change in volume of a rock, with the outer part expanded relative to the interior.

Enlargement B shows both light-toned veins and dark spots that show the relief of concretions, and enlargement C shows an exotic black rock that is similar in shape to more distant, dark rocks found higher in the local stratigraphy, which NASA believes was ejected to the current site by a crater-excavating impact.