Hate to sound like a broken record, but the sediments here inside Endurance Crater show the features that one would see in a limestone. The upper part shows no coherent cross layering or normal bedding. There are very nice layers, but they often just peter out, merge, or twist into different directions. Extensive deformation of these sediments apparently occurred before petrifaction, but on very small scales. These features most closely resemble limestone such as that produced by the fecal pellet strings of sea cucumbers. Something has occurred on a small scale to form pellets, and these are organized into strings and/or plates that have stacked up along side each other. Sometimes these loose agglomerations (in periods of less sedimentation) broke down and formed more extensive layers, but these layers generally lack the good continuity or smooth margins that would be seen in sandstones or siltstones from playa type environments. Either way, the agglomeration of the layers into a pellet like structure needs explanation. To be blunt - I'd say it's crap.

Likewise, as before, any good evidence of ripples is lacking in these images. The dark, dust filled lines between these layers do wiggle, but these wiggles lack the regularity that would be seen with ripples, and are on a very small scale. They also often just truncate or branch. These resemble stylolites, common in limestones. I contend that they are just the margins of the sulfate sediment pellets. (I am trying to stave off more Nasa claims for ripples - in advance expectation.)

The lower portion of the image seems to show a soft sediment deformation structure that runs through the layering. This feature cuts across quite a few layers. There are some quick turns or offsets in it, so it is not just a dessication crack. There is also an infilling of material in cylindrical, possibly tubular forms inside this hole. This could be from gas that escaped while the sediments were still very soft, followed by infilling. Animal burrowing is a possibility; the margins do not show any upturning that one might see from gas lifting, however, many more examples need to be seen to attempt such a remarkable conclusion, which I think is less likely in this case. These holes are more expected for very wet sediments, not dry ones, and at a minimum, could only occur in moist, soft sediments.

Other images of this series show that the discontinuous layers do indeed deviate around the spheres. This has been seen many times previous, but here are the clearest images yet. These layers wrap around the spheres like "pigs in a blanket," and show not the slightest indication of penetrating through the spheres, as the official explanation contends.