Meridiani Planum
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity looks southwest across Meridiani Planum; the Rover's discarded backshell and parachute are visible in the distance.
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| Coordinates | 0°12′N 357°30′E / 0.2°N 357.5°ECoordinates: 0°12′N 357°30′E / 0.2°N 357.5°E |
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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), 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.
Meridiani Planum was chosen as the landing site for the spacecraft landings of MER-B and the ExoMars EDM, the flat terrain, low-elevation, and relative lack of rocks and craters have made it favored location. This region also contains 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.
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