This image shows Gusev Crater, Spirit's landing site. The yellow oval, which is 81 km by 12 km (50 by 7 miles), indicates the area within which Spirit is expected to land. The colors in this image represent elevations. Blue and green represent lower elevations, while orange and red indicate higher ground.
Click on image for full size
NASA

MER Spirit landing site - Gusev Crater

The first of two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) landed within Gusev Crater on Mars on January 3, 2004. The robotic rover, named Spirit, bounced to a halt within an 81 km by 12 km (50 by 7 miles) target landing ellipse inside the ancient crater. Once settled into its new "home", Spirit began its mission of exploring for geologic evidence of the presence of water in Gusev Crater's past.

The MER vehicles are robotic field geologists especially designed to detect rocks and soils that might indicate that liquid water was once present at their landing sites on Mars. Gusev Crater, formed by the impact of an asteroid three to four billion years ago, may have held a large lake in the distant past. A valley named Ma'adim Vallis, which is connected to the south side of the crater, looks like it may have been a river channel that poured water into the ancient lake. If that is the case, Gusev Crater should show signs of the former presence of water in its rock and soil formations.

MER mission scientists hope to find layered, sedimentary deposits indicating deposition of materials by flowing water. They are also looking for types of rocks and minerals called evaporites that form on Earth when water dries up, leaving the minerals it contains behind. For example, evaporation of salty water produces deposits of the mineral halite. Gypsum or calcium magnesian sulfate are other types of evaporites. MER is looking for carbonates (such as calcium carbonate), which also form in the presence of water and often indicate that living organisms were present. Wet environments are the best places to look for life, which is why scientists are so eager to track down places on Mars that were once wet.

Gusev Crater is about 145 km (90 miles) wide and covers an area roughly the size of the state of Connecticut. It is located at 14.6° South latitude and 175.3° East longitude on Mars. The other MER rover, Opportunity, is exploring an area on Mars named Meridiani Planum on the opposite side of the Red Planet.

Last modified February 8, 2004 by Randy Russell.

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Gusev Crater location on Mars

Gusev Crater is an impact crater on Mars that looks as though a lake may have once filled it in the distant past. One of the two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) will explore Gusev Crater beginning in January...more

What Is a Mineral?

Minerals occur naturally on rocky planets and form the building blocks of rocks. They are non-living, solid, and, like all matter, are made of atoms of elements. There are many different types of minerals...more

Halite

What’s that on your chips? It’s a mineral called halite! If you look closely at ordinary table salt, you will see that, just like other minerals, it looks like crystals. Halite is salt. In its natural...more

Gypsum

You can find gypsum in sedimentary rocks, deserts, and caves. Large amounts can form in layers on a salty sea or lake bottom when water evaporates leaving the mineral behind. Gypsum sometimes forms when...more

MER Opportunity Landing Site - Meridiani Planum

The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER), named "Opportunity", landed at a site on Mars known as Meridiani Planum. This flat plain is one of the few places on Mars where the mineral gray hematite is found...more

MER Spirit landing site - Gusev Crater

The first of two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) landed within Gusev Crater on Mars on January 3, 2004. The robotic rover, named Spirit, bounced to a halt within an 81 km by 12 km (50 by 7 miles) target...more

Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was one of the most important exploration tools of the past two decades, and will continue to serve as a great resource well into the new millennium. The HST is credited...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA