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NASA Rovers Slated To Examine Two Intriguing Sites On Mars
Pasadena - Apr 14, 2003 NASA has chosen two scientifically compelling landing sites for twin robotic rovers to explore on the surface of Mars early next year. The two sites are a giant crater that appears to have once held a lake, and a broad outcropping of a mineral that usually forms in the presence of liquid water. Each Mars Exploration Rover (MER) will examine its landing site for geological evidence of past liquid water activity and past environmental conditions hospitable to life. "Landing on Mars is very difficult, and it's harder on some parts of the planet than others," said Dr. Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for space science in Washington. "In choosing where to go, we need to balance science value with engineering safety considerations at the landing sites. The sites we have chosen provide such balance." The first rover, scheduled for launch May 30, will be targeted to land at Gusev Crater, 15 degrees south of Mars' equator. The second, scheduled to launch June 25, will be targeted to land at Meridiani Planum, an area with deposits of an iron oxide mineral (gray hematite) about two degrees south of the equator and halfway around the planet from Gusev. Which rover is targeted to a specific site is still considered tentative, while further analyses and simulations are conducted. NASA can change the order as late as approximately one month after the launch of the first rover. The first mission will parachute to an airbag-cushioned landing on Jan. 4, 2004, and the second on Jan. 25, 2004. "A tremendous amount of effort has gone into evaluating possible landing sites in the past two years, to maximize the probability of mission success" said Peter Theisinger, MER project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.
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