For years, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring the slopes of Mount Sharp inside the Red Planet's Gale Crater, looking for clues about Mars' watery past. Recently, Curiosity turned its attention to a landscape of ridges, hollows and nodules that mission team members call "boxwork terrain."

What is it?

This photo, taken by Curiosity's Left Navigation Camera, shows the difference in texture of the Martian landscape, with Curiosity's mast shadow also visible.

Since landing on Mars in August 2012, one of Curiosity's major missions has been to understand the history recorded in the layers of Martian dirt. Sediments, minerals and textures all tell a story of changing environments: water, wind and possible ancient life. The "boxwork pattern" has become of particular interest to NASA

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