Curiosity Crosses a Martian Boundary No Rover Has Seen

Curiosity's boxwork ridges appear nowhere else on Mount Sharp — not on the ground, not from orbit

The crisscrossing ridges were cemented by ancient groundwater, then exposed by wind erosion

Groundwater lingered later and deeper than scientists expected, hinting at habitable underground zones

In 2026 the rover crossed into layered-sulfate bedrock and drilled a site called Atacama

Comparing Atacama with a sample 160 metres lower will trace how Mars dried out over time