Science News | 2017 Feb 10
Update: Following closed afternoon meetings at the conclusion of a scientific advisory session on 10 February, NASA announced the official final 3 sites under consideration for the Mars 2020 rover. As expected, Jezero and Northeast Syrtis were put forward. But rather than forwarding along Eberswalde or Mawrth Vallis, two other top candidates, the 2020 rover team stated that Columbia Hills, a site previously explored by the Spirit rover, would be considered as the third option.
[img3="A deltalike fan in Jezero crater shows where water would have flowed into the lake-filled crater, transporting clay minerals and, possibly, organic molecules.Mars scientists have spoken, nominating Jezero crater and three other sites as their favorite targets for a NASA rover to be launched in 2020. Once home to an ancient river delta, Jezero crater may have collected and preserved ancient organic molecules that flowed in from beyond the crater’s rim. ...
Credit: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL/MSSS/Brown University"]http://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default ... rbiter.png[/img3][hr][/hr]
The clear top candidate was Jezero crater. It was followed by Northeast Syrtis, a nearby carbonate-rich site home to ancient, water-associated clays that could be tied to potential hydrothermal springs. Both spots sit close to old volcanic rocks, another important goal for a mission that will collect samples that may ultimately be returned to Earth. Eberswalde crater, home to another clay-rich delta, came in third, followed by Mawrth Vallis, another potential hot spring site.
A voyage to Jezero crater, with clear evidence of an ancient delta visible from orbit, would ultimately show whether or not an early, wet surface could support life ...
