Assessment of Mars Exploration Rover Landing Site PredictionsThe Mars Exploration Rover (MER) landing sites in Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum were selected because they appeared acceptably safe for MER landing and roving and had strong indicators of liquid water. The engineering constraints critical for safe landing were addressed via comprehensive evaluation of surface and atmospheric characteristics from existing and targeted remote sensing data and models that resulted in a number of predictions of the surface characteristics of the sites, which are tested more fully herein than a preliminary assessment. Relating remote sensing signatures to surface characteristics at landing sites allows these sites to be used as ground truth for the orbital data and is essential for selecting and validating landing sites for future missions.
Document ID
20050169539
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Golombek, M. P. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Arvidson, R. E. (Washington Univ. Saint Louis, MO, United States)
Bell, J. F., III (Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY, United States)
Christensen, P. R. (Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Crisp, J. A. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Ehlmann, B. L. (Oxford Univ. Oxford, United Kingdom)
Fergason, R. L. (Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Grant, J. A. (Smithsonian Institution Washington, DC, United States)
Haldemann, A. F. C. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Parker, T. J. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Squyres, S. W. (Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2005
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI, Part 7