Anaylsis of potential Mars Science Laboratory landing sites using HiRISE

Six landing sites remain under consideration for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) after review of 33 potential sites at the first MSL landing site workshop (June 2006) and subsequent review of 30+ additional sites at the second landing site workshop (October 2007). After the second workshop and subsequent review by the MSL Project in early December 2007, the list of sites remaining under consideration was narrowed to six that include: Nili Fossae Trough, Holden Crater, Mawrth Vallis, Eberswalde Crater, Miyamoto Crater, and Northern Meridiani. These sites emphasize a range of science themes including mineralogy (i.e. phyllosilicates, sulfates and/or hematite), layered materials, and the presence of fluvial, erosional or depositional landforms. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) began acquiring data in the fall of 2006 at resolutions up to 26 cm/pixel. Targets include locations proposed at the first and second MSL landing site workshops. At least one 20km by 25km landing ellipse was proposed for each site. Most of the sites are "go to" sites that have a safe landing site adjacent to the science target of interest. HiRISE images, including stereo pairs, of the six remaining landing ellipses and the go-to science targets (if applicable) have been obtained. Each image is approximately 6 km wide and at least 10 km long and includes a 1.2 km-wide blue-green and NIR swath down the middle of the image. The stereo pairs will be used to create topographic maps for analyzing slopes at the 2-5 meter scale. The HiRISE images show a variety of landforms at high resolution, such as layered deposits, dunes, ripples, channels, ridges, rocks, polygonal terrain and craters. Each of these sites is being extensively studied to assess the safest landing site as well as what is best suited to achieving mission science objectives. For example, it is expected that HiRISE imagery will be the primary data set for assessing rover-scale slopes and boulder distributions. The images will also play a role during surface operations, serving as basemaps for identifying traverse targets and safe traverse paths. A brief overview of each of the six sites follows.