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Landing Sites Chosen for Mars Rovers
Friday, April 11, 2003
NASA has chosen two scientifically compelling landing sites for twin
robotic rovers to explore on the surface of Mars early next year. The
two sites are a giant crater that appears to have once held a lake, and
a broad outcropping of a mineral that usually forms in the presence of
liquid water. Each Mars Exploration Rover (MER) will examine its
landing site for geological evidence of past liquid water activity and
past environmental conditions hospitable to life. The first rover,
scheduled for launch May 30, will be targeted to land at Gusev Crater,
15 degrees south of Mars' equator. The second, scheduled to launch June
25, will be targeted to land at Meridiani Planum, an area with deposits
of an iron oxide mineral (gray hematite) about two degrees south of the
equator and halfway around the planet from Gusev.
More: NASA - NASA Rovers Slated To Examine Two Intriging Sites On Mars
