Selection of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites

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Read Full Article (file size: 3758787 bytes) Cited by JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 108, NO. E12, 8072, doi:10.1029/2003JE002074, 2003 Selection of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites M. P. Golombek Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA J. A. Grant Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA T. J. Parker Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA D. M. Kass Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA J. A. Crisp Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA S. W. Squyres Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA A. F. C. Haldemann Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA M. Adler Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA W. J. Lee Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA N. T. Bridges Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA R. E. Arvidson Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA M. H. Carr U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, USA R. L. Kirk U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA P. C. Knocke Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA R. B. Roncoli Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA C. M. Weitz NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, USA J. T. Schofield Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA R. W. Zurek Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA P. R. Christensen Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA R. L. Fergason Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA F. S. Anderson Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA J. W. Rice Jr. Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA Abstract The selection of Meridiani Planum and Gusev crater as the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites took over 2 years, involved broad participation of the science community via four open workshops, and narrowed an initial ∼155 potential sites (80–300 × 30 km) to four finalists based on science and safety. Engineering constraints important to the selection included (1) latitude (10°N–15°S) for maximum solar power, (2) elevation (less than −1.3 km) for sufficient atmosphere to slow the lander, (3) low horizontal winds, shear, and turbulence in the last few kilometers to minimize horizontal velocity, (4) low 10-m-scale slopes to reduce airbag spin-up and bounce, (5) moderate rock abundance to reduce abrasion or strokeout of the airbags, and (6) a radar-reflective, load-bearing, and trafficable surface safe for landing and roving that is not dominated by fine-grained dust. The evaluation of sites utilized existing as well as targeted orbital information acquired from the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey. Three of the final four landing sites show strong evidence for surface processes involving water and appear capable of addressing the science objectives of the missions, which are to determine the aqueous, climatic, and geologic history of sites on Mars where conditions may have been favorable to the preservation of evidence of possible prebiotic or biotic processes. The evaluation of science criteria placed Meridiani and Gusev as the highest-priority sites. The evaluation of the three most critical safety criteria (10-m-scale slopes, rocks, and winds) and landing simulation results indicated that Meridiani and Elysium Planitia are the safest sites, followed by Gusev and Isidis Planitia. Received 26 February 2003; accepted 25 August 2003; published 10 December 2003. Index Terms: 6225 Planetology: Solar System Objects: Mars; 5470 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Surface materials and properties; 5499 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: General or miscellaneous; 5409 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Atmospheres—structure and dynamics; 5455 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Origin and evolution. Read Full Article (file size: 3758787 bytes) Cited by Citation: Golombek, M. P., et al. (2003), Selection of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites, J. Geophys. Res., 108(E12), 8072, doi:10.1029/2003JE002074. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.

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