Scientists gather to decide next Mars rover’s landing spot

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is getting the rockstar treatment.

Hundreds of scientists, astronomers and Mars enthusiasts have gathered in California to battle over the most optimal location for NASA’s next red planet rover to land, which experts said will “set the stage” for the next decade of exploration.

The mission will not only search for once-habitable terrain and signs of past life, but it could also be the first step in bringing soil and rock samples back to Earth. The ambitious goal makes choosing the most scientifically-valuable landing spot all the more crucial, scientists said.

“It allows the entire science community to have a discussion about the best place to go and what important scientific questions can be addressed at that site,” Dr. Matt Golombek, a Mars exploration program landing site scientist, told the Post. “In some way, it’s the most detailed discussion of things you really believe.”

The three-day conference, which began on Wednesday in Glendale, is the fourth and final in a series of debates and deliberations that began in 2014. Scientists from dozens of areas of study convened to fight on behalf of what they consider the most optimal spot.

“The Mars 2020 landing site could set the stage for Mars exploration for the next decade,” Thomas Zurbuchen, the Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, said in a statement. “Once returned to Earth, these samples will likely become the most analyzed soil samples in history.”

Golombek explained the 2020 rover is similar to Curiosity, both in size (a small automobile) and function. However, where Curiosity is equipped with an internal science laboratory, the 2020 rover will have sample cache and collecting system, making it one of NASA’s most promising missions yet.

The 2020 rover will collect soil and rock samples, seal them up in small test tubes and scatter them across Mars for subsequent missions to pick up and, hopefully, send back to Earth.

The first conference began with 30 potential landing spots that were then imaged from orbit and narrowed down to eight. Those eight spots were then imaged with more detail and narrowed down to three — Columbia Hills, Jezero Crater and Northeast Syrtis.

Before the start of this week’s conference, an additional more spot — named “Midway” because it sits between Jezero Crater and Northeast Syrtis — was added to the finalists’ list.

Two of the spots are known as ancient basement complexes, where the oldest rocks on Mars have been discovered. The third spot is believed have once been a standing body of water and the fourth spot contains several deposits considered to have “astrobiological significance.”

Scientists are tasked with selecting the spot that was once considered habitable and still holds evidence of the habitability.

“I have attended all the workshops so far, and none have disappointed when it comes to intelligent advocation and lively debate,” Ken Farley, the project scientist of Mars 2020 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said. “The passion of the participants shows just how much they care about Mars exploration. They know they are playing a key role in the process, and they know how important the landing site for Mars 2020 will be.”

Golombek predicts “three or four” missions will be required after the 2020 rover to get the samples back to Earth.

The official landing selection is expected to be announced by the end of the year. Mars 2020 is currently slated to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in July 2020 and reach Mars by February 2021.

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