Other
Scientific paper
Jan 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001mers.work...57n&link_type=abstract
First Landing Site Workshop for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers, p. 57
Other
Hydrothermal Systems, Impact Melts, Landing Sites, Roving Vehicles, Mars Exploration, Mars Craters, Mineral Deposits, Mars Surface, Planetary Geology, Imagery, High Resolution, Sedimentary Rocks, Extraterrestrial Life
Scientific paper
Five craters larger than 100 km diameter, including Gale with its spectacular lake deposits, have been identified as possible landing sites for the Mars Explorer Rovers (MER) 2003 missions. These craters are important locations where lacustrine, fluvial, and hydrothermal processes occurred on Mars, they have exciting landscapes, and these missions represent the first chance to visit a large crater on another planet. Lakes probably formed in these craters, with water supplied from aquifers or surface sources resulting in deposition of water-lain sediments and evaporites. Lake waters derived from broad regional aquifers, can potentially collect biological material from a wide region and provide environments for possible life forms to flourish. Hydrothermal systems, which formed in the craters due to heat from impact melt and uplifted basement, are highly sought after targets because terrestrial life probably originated in such systems. Studying hydrothermal and aqueous processes in large craters on Mars will allow us to: Identify and characterize environments for the origin and evolution of life on Mars. Understand the history of water at the Martian surface, including hydrothermal systems, lake formation, and the nature of ancient climates. Study the contributions to the Martian soil from hydrothermal and evaporite processes. The location of fluvial and lacustrine deposits are often evident from geomorphic evidence, such as layering and delta structures, but the location of hydrothermal deposits is less obvious. However, continuing research including study of MGS MOC imagery, hydrothermal modeling, and terrestrial analogue studies provide strong guidance on where such deposits can be found, and on the processes that may have exposed or delivered this material to the landing sites.
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