NASA selects landing sites for Mars rovers
Posted: Fri, Apr 11, 2003, 7:01 PM ET (2301 GMT)
NASA has chosen a crater that may have once hosted a lake and an outcropping of hematite as the landing sites for the agency's two Mars rovers scheduled for launch this year. Officials said they had selected Gusev Crater as the landing site for the first Mars Exploration Rover (MER), scheduled for launch on May 30, and Meridiani Planum as the site for the second MER, scheduled for launch on June 25. Gusev Crater, about 15 degrees south of the Martian equator, is thought to be the site of an ancient lakebed, while Meridiani Planum, two degrees south of the equator, has deposits of hematite, a mineral that usually forms in the presence of liquid water. Scientists and engineers chose the sites after a long site selection process which attempted to identify locations on the Martian surface that were both of scientific interest as well as safe for the rovers. The first rover is scheduled to land at Gusev on January 4, 2004, and the second will land at Meridiani three weeks later.
NASA has chosen a crater that may have once hosted a lake and an outcropping of hematite as the landing sites for the agency's two Mars rovers scheduled for launch this year. Officials said they had selected Gusev Crater as the landing site for the first Mars Exploration Rover (MER), scheduled for launch on May 30, and Meridiani Planum as the site for the second MER, scheduled for launch on June 25. Gusev Crater, about 15 degrees south of the Martian equator, is thought to be the site of an ancient lakebed, while Meridiani Planum, two degrees south of the equator, has deposits of hematite, a mineral that usually forms in the presence of liquid water. Scientists and engineers chose the sites after a long site selection process which attempted to identify locations on the Martian surface that were both of scientific interest as well as safe for the rovers. The first rover is scheduled to land at Gusev on January 4, 2004, and the second will land at Meridiani three weeks later.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Blue Origin describes plans for increased New Glenn launch rates
Posted: Sat, Oct 17 11:41 AM ET (1541 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, October 22
ESA’s Space Rider Suffers Mishap In Drop Test
Aviation Week — 7:18 am ET (1118 GMT) When Starshield Cut Out, Ukrainian Drones Fell From the Skies
New York Times — 7:17 am ET (1117 GMT) Firefly Aerospace Completes Preliminary Design Review for NASA MoonFall Mission
Firefly Aerospace — 7:17 am ET (1117 GMT) Firefly’s Elytra Lunar Orbiter Completes PDR
Aviation Week — 7:17 am ET (1117 GMT) Musk Is Getting It Wrong on India’s Space Oligarchs
Bloomberg News — 7:14 am ET (1114 GMT) |
