Seven Possible MSL Landing Sites


    Getting to Know Mount Sharp

    Survivor: Mars





    Possible MSL Landing Site: Eberswalde Crater

    Eberswalde crater


    Gale Crater

    Gale Crater


    Possible MSL Landing Site: Holden Crater

    Holden Crater

    Holden Crater sits within a string of craters that look like a chain of alpine lakes connected by a stream. The crater offers tantalizing clues to the history of water on Mars. Running water carved deep gullies in the crater. Water also carried sediments onto the floor of a prospective lakebed. These deposits are more than 3 billion years old, dating back to a wetter period of early martian history. Geological studies suggest that a massive, catastrophic flood may have breached part of the crater rim that was holding back water. The water eventually disappeared. Later, wind eroded the surface and exposed ancient sediments. Winds also formed ripples and dunes that are still visible on the surface today. Holden Crater offers the opportunity to examine some of the most ancient rocks on Mars. Another benefit of the site is that the mission would not have to drive far to get there. The rover would land on top of a "bajada," a high plateau of material eroded from nearby cliffs.

    Possible MSL Landing Site: Mawrth Vallis

    Mawrth Vallis

    Mawrth Vallis is smack in the middle of a region that has always been mysterious to scientists. This region is the boundary between the southern highlands and northern lowlands of Mars. It is a place where the entire planet suddenly drops in elevation. In effect, Mars is lopsided. Its southern hemisphere is higher in elevation than its northern hemisphere. Mawrth Vallis itself is an ancient channel carved by catastrophic floods. "Mawrth" is the Welsh word for Mars and "Vallis" is Latin for valley. Layered cliffs, which look like Neapolitan ice cream, are rich in clay minerals. Such minerals, called phyllosilicates, form in the presence of water. They may yield information about past environments that could have supported life. Mawrth Vallis is also conveniently near a hazard-free landing zone. The Mars Science Laboratory science team would use the rover to piece together the history of this puzzling site and look for conditions favorable to life.

    Possible MSL Landing Site: Miyamoto Crater

    Miyamoto Crater

    Miyamoto Crater is just west of the Plains of Meridiani. A huge hole in the ground, the crater is 150 kilometers (93 miles) wide. Rocks formed in the presence of water fill the crater's northeastern half. Like those discovered by the Opportunity rover, they include minerals of iron and sulfur. These materials likely settled on lake bottoms or in groundwater systems. In the southwestern portion of the crater floor, erosion has stripped them away. The eroded surfaces are windows into the very remote past. They reveal clays and other materials like those found in the most ancient Martian rocks. More than 3.5 billion years old, they date to the Noachian era. At that time, liquid water was likely present at the surface. Perhaps the water created an environment favorable to life.

    Possible MSL Landing Site: Nili Fossae Trough

    Nili Fossae Trough

    Nili Fossae Trough is a huge crack in the surface of Mars. The linear trough is about 25 kilometers (16 miles) wide. It formed when a huge meteor slammed into the surface and created the Isidis Basin to the east, one of the four largest impact basins on Mars. The impact caused the Martian surface to deform. The region has one of the largest, most diverse exposures of clay minerals. Clay minerals contain water in their mineral structure and may preserve organic materials. Scientists are excited about studying such deposits to understand past environments that could have supported life. The Mars Science Laboratory rover would land in the center of the trough, amid rocks that splattered outward when the crater formed. Volcanic rocks are also abundant, left behind by cooling lava that filled the trough. Over its mission, the rover would drive westward to a side canyon in the wall of the trough. There, spacecraft have detected a diversity of minerals in the ancient crust.

    Possible MSL Landing Site: Southern Meridiani

    Southern Meridiani

    Southern Meridiani is on a smooth Martian plain. Not far away, the Opportunity rover found evidence of flowing water in the past. Scientists now know that the plains have a complex story to tell. Their history involves flowing water, groundwater, lakes, and wind. The area also spans two major eras of Martian history. The Mars Science Laboratory rover would trace that history further back than ever before. Later in the mission, the rover would cross onto older crust of the Noachian era. There, the rover would study clay minerals and evidence for past flowing water observed from orbit. The rover would use its on-board science lab to study the environment of early Mars and whether it could have been friendly for life.