Exploring the Red Planet: Future Landing Sites on Mars
With the successful airbag-cushioned landing on Mars of the exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity, where will NASA look next for a landing site?
Mars Global Surveyor photo of Apollinaris Patera
Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA
Could it be inside a volcano such as Apollinaris Patera, which rises 3 miles above the surface? The bright water-ice clouds seen hovering around its summit are attracting the attention of NASA planners.
Apollinaris Patera probably is three billion years old. Its large central crater is about 50 miles across.
Olympus Mons and other huge shield volcanos overshadow Apollinaris Patera, but the smaller and older volcanic structures known as paterae are intriguing.
The volcano has narrow furrows extending from the central crater or caldera. Geologists wonder if the paterae are wide hills of easily eroded volcanic ash.
While no decision has been made, such a volcano might be where the next lander bounces down.
