NASA Announces Mars Landing Site
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NASA Announces Mars Landing Site
Mars Polar Lander to arrive
on smooth, layered terrain
Aug. 25, 1999:
A strip of gentle, rolling plains near the Martian South
Pole will serve as a welcome mat when NASA's Mars Polar Lander
touches down on the Red Planet on Dec. 3. NASA unveiled the landing site
at a
briefing today at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
You can view the entire 43 minute briefing in RealVideo
using the RealVideo Player from Real Networks, Inc.
Right: Mars Polar Lander's
primary landing site at 76 degrees
south latitude and 195 degrees west
longitude near the martian south pole.
The carbon dioxide polar cap is outlined in white. Image credit: Dr. David A. Paige (UCLA). For more information and images
see www.MarsPolarLander.com
"We looked for a site with slopes no steeper than 10
degrees," said Project Scientist Dr. Richard Zurek of NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. "We chose a location
with some surface features but no cliffs or jagged peaks, because
the spacecraft will be able to land safely, yet we'll still
accomplish our science goals."
December 3: Mars Polar Lander nears touchdown  December 2: What next, Leonids? November 30: Polar Lander Mission Overview November 30: Learning how to make a clean sweep in space |
"We believe this layered terrain is a record of climate changes on Mars, and in a sense, digging into its surface will be like reading tree rings or layers in an ice core," Zurek said. "The presence of fine layers of dust and ice with varying thickness will indicate changes in weather patterns and layer formation that have been repeated in recent history. In addition, we may find evidence of soil particles that formed in ancient seas on Mars and were later blown into the polar regions."
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"For the next several weeks, we'll study newly transmitted Mars Global Surveyor images," said Flight Team Manager Dr. Sam Thurman at JPL. "If necessary, we can retarget for the backup landing site as late as early October, when the flight team begins preparations for landing."
The Dec. 3 landing occurs toward the end of spring in the Martian Southern Hemisphere. The sun will shine all day, moving higher and lower in the sky but never dipping below the horizon. This nonstop sunshine will power the lander's solar panels for 90 days, until the Martian seasons change and the lander's mission ends.
Educators! Thursday's Classroom for lesson plans and activities related to exploration of the planet Mars. |
Images of the landing site and additional information about Mars Polar Lander are available at the following Web site: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lander/
Additional information about Deep Space Two is available at the following Web site: http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/ds2/
JPL manages Mars Polar Lander and the New Millennium Program for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. Web Links
MARS POLAR LANDER TO ARRIVE ON SMOOTH, LAYERED TERRAIN - NASA/JPL Press Release
MarsPolarLander.com - A nice overview of Mars Polar Lander and the mission's science themes from UCLA
Mars Global Surveyor - mission home page at NASA/JPL
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