Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

Mark · 2004-01-25 05:00:40

Both sites are interesting in their own respects, but which one do you find more fascinating, whether it'd be from a scientific or geological perspective? Also, which one do you find overall more attractive looking?

Josh Cryer · 2004-01-25 05:04:06

Good topic!

Meridiani Planum, hands down. It has a lot of firsts. First layered outcrops on Mars. First rockless area. First look at bizarre soils. First images from Mars that almost made me wet my freakin' pants!

Gusev Crater has its upsides, though. I can't wait until we get roving and we get over there to that crater next to Spirit. That's where things will get fun. And certainly movement in Gusev Crater will be more "noticable" because there will be more reference objects.

Roving on sand/lakebed-like surfaces tends to be monotonous! But who cares when you have layered rocks only a few meters in front of us!

Shaun Barrett · 2004-01-25 05:06:22

There's simply no way to choose, Mark!
I want it all ... NOW!!
:laugh:

Mark · 2004-01-25 05:17:32

Well, hopefully Spirit will be back on track 100 percent in the near future and continue with it's experiments and things go smoothly with Opportunity, we will be experiencing alot with BOTH sites.:)

Michael Bloxham · 2004-01-25 05:21:42

Meridiani Planum is certainly different to anything seen before... Viking 1+2, Pathfinder, and now Spirit sites all have a distinctively 'martian' look; defined by the bright red soils and scattered rocks... But this; this is different... And bedrock? Brings some familiarity to Mars... And the soil... Looks like red moondust! Remarkably barren (local) area too. Sorta reminds me of a sandy river bank, actually.

Mark · 2004-01-25 05:24:50

Yes, the soil in Meridiani Planum does look more like that from a riverbed, or soil close to and around a river. Gusev crater has a more baron and dry look about it. Load up both color images of Gusev and Meridiani, and the ground looks alot different, in my opinion.

Smart move to put a second rover in a completely different location.

Michael Bloxham · 2004-01-25 05:31:06

Notice every site since Pathfinder has been less and less rocky, and more and more like an earthen dessert?

Oh and, [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-i … rd-med.jpg]Meridiani in Color. Whoa! Man thats dark!

Mark · 2004-01-25 05:32:40

Yes, I agree, well, we do need a change of scenery.

But, Meridiani Planum is the most unique yet though.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-01-25 06:20:57

You could set me down at either place and you wouldn't hear a single complaint!

Stu · 2004-01-25 07:05:46

When I saw the first pics of Gusev, the rock-hound in me was slack-jawed at the sight of what appeared to be an exposed bedrock layer on the far side of Sleepy Hollow, and the variety of rocks strewn across the landscape had me very excited. I thought it was a wonderland...

But now, looking at Meridiani, that layer across near the horizon there is just soooo fascinating, and I'm imagining what it would be like to be there now, and set-off across the crater floor towards it, my boots scuffing up puffs of dust and fines the colour of dried strawberries or powdered blood as I bunny-hopped my way away from Opportunity. Then reaching The Wall (I'm going to call it that from now on, I think ) and running my gloved hands over the exposed, weathered blocks, kneeling down in front of it, knees pressing down into the dust, looking at the colours, textures and forms, maybe even glimpsing tiny curled-up fossils embedded in the stone...

And then there's the far horizon, too... imagining turning my back on The Wall and slogging my way up the slope, feeling the dust hissing away beneath my feet like sand on a dune, then reaching the top and seeing a sweeping, David Lean-esque vista of rippled sand-dunes the colour of red wine, scattered with jagged outcrops of hematite, shining and glistening in the sunlight...

So, sorry Gusev, you're great, but I want to be with Opportunity. The Wall is calling.

Josh Cryer · 2004-01-25 07:10:55

Opportunity is my favorite probe, hands down. Spirit was a wee bit more exciting because of the tense momments during EDL, but Opportunity has impressed me a lot more.

Funnily, Viking 2 was also my favorite probe. So it seems that the second time is the charm for me.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-01-25 08:24:04

Josh:-

Opportunity is my favorite probe, hands down.

Ah, how fickle is love! How quickly is thine erstwhile paramour, Spirit, cast aside like a rag doll.
Methinks thou mayest yet rue thy callous treachery.

:;):

Palomar · 2004-01-25 09:25:56

*Both sites have me equally interested. Hopefully Spirit will be back to full recovery soon, so we can have equally satisfactory data return from both rovers.

--Cindy

Mad Grad Student · 2004-01-25 20:33:35

Why am I the only one that voted for Gusev Crater? Okay, maybe after taking into consideration the pictures from both sites and the luck-of-the-draw of where each probe landed I might change my mind, but I picked Gusev Crater just on basic principle. The place is thought to be a huge lake filled by a gargantuan flood over a billion years ago. When I first read an article about Gusev Crater a year ago in Air and Space (Yes, a year ago, way before the landing sites were picked) I thought it was the best thing I'd ever seen on Mars. Meridiani is cool, but it just lacks some of the excitment of Gusev. Well, that's just me.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-01-25 20:37:55

What if Opportunity's site consists of just haematite-enriched martian regolith and that rocky outcrop? And what if the rocky outcrop proves to be relatively mundane, homogenous, weathered basalt?
What if it takes a week to determine the above and there's nothing but more grey sand in all directions?

I don't mean to sound pessimistic but I'm just wondering what the strategy would be if there was nothing but featureless sand for, say, 5 kilometres all around?
I suppose Spirit's health would suddenly become even more important than it is already.
???

Dr. K · 2004-01-26 01:21:11

Here's some more info on the landing sites. Personally, I'd like a summer home by Gusev to take advantage of the lake, but probably like to live and work closer to the Planum.

[http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/pres … 0R1_br.jpg]Landing Sites Overview Map (nice 62KB JPEG from Mars Odyssey orbiter).

[http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/flash/mars-landing/text/]NASA's MER Landing Sites (lots of info on both sites, nicely presented).

And LOTS more (news, status, updates, scientific info, images, video... ) at:
[http://www.axonchisel.net/etc/space/mar … _landsites](AXCH) 2004 Mars Exploration Rovers - News, Status, Technical Info, History - MER2004 Landing Sites

Arccos · 2004-01-26 03:20:52

I vote for Gusev. It may be scientifically less interesting, but it has more interesting landscape (for a laic like me). I'm really eager to see the southeast hills more closely! I hope Spirit will be OK.
However, Opportunity's land side is interesting as well, there is no doubt!

dicktice · 2004-01-26 18:19:38

Those rocky outcroppings look tantalizing, and besides this is the site where the operational rover is. So, what's to choose?

atitarev · 2004-01-26 19:07:16

Both sides would look much better to me flooded, overgrown with green vegetation or with some human activity. :laugh: Not a scientist, sorry, just want to get there sooner.

I voted for Gusev crater - looks like central Australia to me and you could get better panorama than from the crater where Opportunity landed.

Marineris Sauce · 2004-01-30 16:16:39

Meridiani... The anticipation of looking out over the lip of that crater is killing me. I'm also interested in that daring mission to drop a photo-probe into Valles Marineris... That's the one I want to see!! No really, a purely photographic mission I think would go over real well with the general public. Vistas! Cliffs miles high!! Can you imagine?!! Just imagine what Olympus Mons looks like from its' base?! I'm all for geology and science, absolutely 100%. But the general public, I think, wants to see incredible, vast, vistas. Mars tourism can only be kick started through pretty, jaw-dropping pictures.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-02-01 06:36:06

What daring photo-probe mission into Mariner Valley?
What have I been missing and why wasn't I informed?
???

Marineris Sauce · 2004-02-01 17:58:08

What daring photo-probe mission into Mariner Valley?
What have I been missing and why wasn't I informed?

:laugh: The one that hasn't been thought up yet. The one that some daring businessman is going to implement and make a bundle on. Just think, a massive volume of high-res, gorgeous photos from ground level, or perhaps a low-flying device which could fly continuously from hundreds of feet off the ground, snapping constantly while transmitting back to Earth. I'd purchase a book like that! Mars will sell!!

Ansel Adams on Mars... Oh Yeah!!

rgcarnes · 2004-02-01 21:32:38

Since I haven't seen the immediate surroundings of Meridiani in the high resolution images from Mars Global Surveyor, Gusev takes it due to the nearby significant crater. The overhead views suggest that there is really some interesting territory within the crater.

Also, looking at the images from orbit, does anyone else wonder where the heat shield went after it went end over end into the crater? The answer to that one should be very interesting.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-02-02 00:24:20

Which crater was the heat shield supposed to have landed in? Do you have any links to that, with photos?

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#1 2004-01-25 05:00:40

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#2 2004-01-25 05:04:06

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#3 2004-01-25 05:06:22

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#4 2004-01-25 05:17:32

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#5 2004-01-25 05:21:42

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#6 2004-01-25 05:24:50

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#7 2004-01-25 05:31:06

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#8 2004-01-25 05:32:40

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#9 2004-01-25 06:20:57

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#10 2004-01-25 07:05:46

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#11 2004-01-25 07:10:55

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#12 2004-01-25 08:24:04

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#13 2004-01-25 09:25:56

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#14 2004-01-25 20:33:35

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#15 2004-01-25 20:37:55

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#16 2004-01-26 01:21:11

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#17 2004-01-26 03:20:52

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#18 2004-01-26 18:19:38

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#19 2004-01-26 19:07:16

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#20 2004-01-30 16:16:39

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#21 2004-02-01 06:36:06

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#22 2004-02-01 17:58:08

Re: Which Mars site has you more interested? - Gusev Crater or Meridiani Planum

#23 2004-02-01 21:32:38

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