Rather than picking a new destination, scientists chose Columbia Hills. The final selection came as something of a surprise. These warm little puddles would have been a great spot for ancient microbial life to flourish. As Sarah Lewin at reports, the warmth provided by the volcano could have fostered hot springs and melted ice. Northeast Syrtis, the second candidate, is the site of an ancient volcano. An ancient river delta is visible from orbit, and the area contains the remnants of lakes, which could contain hits of life long gone. The first selection, Jezero Crater, is the most popular scientific target, reports Paul Voosen at Science Magazine.
Since traveling over Mar’s sometimes rugged terrain is slow going for a rover, so its landing spot is key. Mars 2020’s main objective is seek out signs of life and environments that could have once been habitable, writes Elizabeth Howell at Seeker. This week, scientists narrowed down its possible landing zones to three different sites on the red planet. But scientists and engineers are already looking ahead to year 2020 and the launch of a new Rover, Mars 2020. This approximate true-color image of the Gusev Crater is one of the three potential landing sites for the Mars 2020 rover.Ĭuriosity is still be working hard on Mars, collecting data and sending it back to Earth for analysis.
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