Landing site selection and Miyamoto crater, Mars – why no hydrothermal deposits?

Abstract

The current landing site candidates for the Mars Science Laboratory involve sedimentary deposits in impact craters, including Hale, Gale, an unnamed crater in Nili Fosse, and Miyamoto crater. Miyamoto crater is a 160-km-diameter impact crater of Noachian age. The floor of the Miyamoto crater, southwest of Meridiani Planum is a potential site for studying aqueous processes on Mars. The crater floor contains raised curvilinear features that are suggestive of past fluvial activity. Unfortunately, the potential for identifying and studying hydrothermal deposits in this location has been handicapped by the lack of high resolution CRISM data from the crater rim, due to the focus of providing data only on potential landing site ellipses. A search for evidence of hydrothermal activity in crater rims and central uplifts could provide important alternative targets for future rovers and sam-ple return missions