Mangala Valles as a Potential Landing Site for the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander

Mangala Valles is an outflow channel in the Memnonia region of Mars. Although its origin is still under debate, most researchers believe they represent some form of catastrophic flood system which occurred early in the evolutionary history of Mars. The scientific objective of the Mars Surveyor Program 2001 (MSP 01) landed mission is to examine the ancient climatic and geologic history of Mars; to characterized surface materials with respect to elemental and mineral composition of rock and soils; to identify the role water may have played with respect to evolutionary history of the surface; to look for samples which may contain possible evidence of ancient life; and to collect and store unaltered samples which may be eventually returned to Earth during a later mission (MSP 05 - 2005). As with the Mars Pathfinder lander, the landing site will depend on several engineering constraints. Preliminary engineering constraints for MSP 01 landing site is that the landing site lies with 30 N and -15 S of the equator (due to solar power limitations) and below 2 km elevation. Both the scientific objectives and the engineering constraints can be accommodated with a Mangala Valles landing site.