Meridiani Planum

Meridiani Planum
Meridiani Planum
MER-B-Descent Stage-med.jpg
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity looks southwest across Meridiani Planum; the Rover's discarded backshell and parachute are visible in the distance.
Coordinates 0°12′N 357°30′E / 0.2°N 357.5°E / 0.2; 357.5Coordinates: 0°12′N 357°30′E / 0.2°N 357.5°E / 0.2; 357.5
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Hematite deposits in Meridiani Planum mapped from orbit, with Opportunity rover landing footprint ellipse.
Rock exposure near Beagle Crater.

Meridiani Planum is a plain located 2 degrees south of Mars' equator (centered at 0°12′N 357°30′E / 0.2°N 357.5°E / 0.2; 357.5), in the westernmost portion of Terra Meridiani. It hosts a rare occurrence of gray crystalline hematite. On Earth, hematite is often formed in hot springs or in standing pools of water; therefore, many scientists believe that the hematite at Meridiani Planum may be indicative of ancient hot springs or that the environment contained liquid water. The hematite is part of a layered sedimentary rock formation about 200 to 800 meters thick. Other features of Meridiani Planum include volcanic basalt and impact craters.

Contents

Mars rover Opportunity

Image taken by the panoramic camera aboard Opportunity showing the rover's empty lander, the Challenger Memorial Station.

In 2004, Meridiani Planum was the landing site for the second of NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers, named Opportunity. It had also been the target landing site for Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, which was cancelled after the failures of the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander missions.

Results from Opportunity indicate that its landing site was once saturated for a long period of time with liquid water, possibly of high salinity and acidity. Features that suggest this include cross-bedded sediments, the presence of many small spherical pebbles that appear to be concretions, vugs inside rocks, and the presence of large amounts of magnesium sulfate and other sulfate-rich minerals such as jarosite.

Craters within Meridiani Planum

See also

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Meridiani Planum — Vue du rover Opportunity vers le sud ouest, le bouclier et le parachute sont visibles au loin. Géographie Géologie Coordonnées 0 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Meridiani Planum — es una llanura que se encuentra 2 grados al sur dell ecuador de Marte, en la parte más occidental del Sinus Meridiani. Alberga una rara frecuencia de hematita cristalina gris. En la Tierra, la hematita se suele formar en manantiales de agua… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Meridiani Planum — Hochebene auf Mars Meridiani Planum Aufnahme von Meridiani Planum. Die Hämatitvorkommen sind farblich markiert worden. Die Ellipse bezeic …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Meridiani Planum — El Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity mira al suroeste a lo largo del Meridiani Planum; en la distancia se observan la carcasa y el paracaídas del vehículo …   Wikipedia Español

  • Meridiani Planum — noun a plain on the surface of Mars; a landing site for several unmanned missions …   Wiktionary

  • Planum — (pluriel plana) est un mot d origine latine qui désigne une surface plate, horizontale. Utilisé sur Mars pour décrire un haut plateau ou une plaine élevée. Ce type de formation s oppose par conséquent aux plaines basses de type Planitia. Voir… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Planum Boreum — (la « plaine du Nord » en latin) est la plaine polaire au nord de Mars. Elle s étend vers le nord d environ 80°N et est centrée à 88.0°N 15.0°E / 88.0; 15.0. Autour de cette grande plaine polaire est un vastitas appelé Vastitas Borealis …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Planum Australe — (la « plaine du Sud » en latin) est la plaine polaire au sud de Mars. Elle s étend vers le sud d environ 75°S et est centrée à 83.9°S 160.0°E. La géologie de cette région aurait dû être étudiée par la mission de la NASA Mars Polar… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sinus Meridiani — Meridiani Planum Meridiani Planum Coordonnées …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sinus Meridiani — is a feature name for an albedo feature on Mars stretching east west just south of that planet s equator. It was named by the French astronomer Camille Flammarion in the late 1870s. Observational HistoryThe name Sinus Meridiani was given to the a …   Wikipedia

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