Veins in rocks on Mars and Earth

Comparing the similarities of what has been observed thus far on Mars, and more familiar and better understood geologic features on Earth, this set of images shows the likeness between sulfate-rich veins seen on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover to sulfate-rich veins seen here on our planet.

The view on the left is a mosaic showing two shots from the remote micro-imager on Curiosity's Chemistry and Camera instrument of a view of "Sheepbed" rock in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Mars. The sulfate-rich veins are the light-colored veins about 1-5 millimeters wide, while the image on the right is from the Egyptian desert on Earth, with a pocket knife shown for scale.