The deep crater is so important to understanding the thickness issue. I say RAT and drive over a portion of the outcrop to address the hardness or softness issue. Then it's get on that surface and cruise towards the crater.

(any bets on which rover will go furthest, fastest?)

"lag deposit" Perfect. That's the term I was trying to remember. I've seen chert deposits "lag" down through many meters of shale to come to rest on fine-gained sandstone. It's really cool and can confuse mapping.

We must consider the ratio between the weathering products of the white rock and transported materials when analyzing soil compositions. Which is identical, pretty much, to that of Gusev...mafic dirt.