TES Hematite Landing Sites in Sinus Meridiani for 2003 Mars Exploration Rover

Details TES Hematite Landing Sites in Sinus Meridiani for 2003 Mars Exploration Rover TES Hematite Landing Sites in Sinus Meridiani for 2003 Mars Exploration Rover

Jan 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001mers.work...59n&link_type=abstract

First Landing Site Workshop for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers, p. 59

Mathematics

Logic

Mars Exploration, Mars Surface, Hematite, Landing Sites, Spectrometers, Thermal Emission, Roving Vehicles, Mars (Planet), Geomorphology, Ground Water, Minerals, Emission Spectra, Mars Global Surveyor, Equatorial Regions

Scientific paper

The Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) has detected large concentrations of bulk crystalline hematite within the western equatorial region of Mars. The hematite represents a unique and enigmatic spectral signature as one of surface rock distinct from basalt or basaltic andesite. Analysis of the spectral data also suggests that the hematite grains are axis-oriented, increasing the mystery. The largest accumulation of hematite has been found within Sinus Meridiani (SM) centered near 2 S latitude between 0 and 5 W longitude covering an area greater than 500 square kilometers. Within the hematite area in SM there are several locations suitable as landing sites for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover (MER). This area has been proposed as a candidate for a landing site before because of its hematite signature, and our further analysis indicates even more possible origins and implications for its presence. In SM and other areas of hematite, we find direct associations with fluvial/groundwater and volcanic geomorphology that may be indicative of the formative processes. Given the generally bland mineralogic landscape of Mars, the concentrated crystalline hematite locales are the only known areas in which we confidently expect to find rock and mineral types dissimilar to that of the Viking and Pathfinder landing sites.

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