A new photo captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and shared online this week features the landing site for the space agency's Mars 2020 mission.

The Mars 2020 rover, scheduled to launch next year, is expected to land in the Jezero Crater, located in a region of Mars known as the Syrtis Major quadrangle.

The crater is thought to have once been filled with water, and its watery history is visible in the sedimentary formations that texture its interior surface, as well as its outer contours. The new MRO image showcases the remnants of an ancient delta where in-flowing rivers once entered, bringing water and sediment.

Channeling patterns move both to and from Jezero Crater, and in the MRO photo, fans and deltas

can be seen extending out from many of the channels.

"Examination of spectral data acquired from orbit show that some of these sediments have minerals that indicate chemical alteration by water," NASA said. "Here in Jezero Crater delta, sediments contain clays and carbonates."

NASA regularly relies on MRO to scout potential landing spots. As the latest MRO image makes clear, the Mars 2020 rover -- and its impressive suite of instruments -- will have plenty of interesting sedimentary structures to investigate. The rover's scientific mission will help scientists better understand Mars' watery past.

Earlier this year, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine detailed the agency's plans for visiting the moon and Mars.

"For the first time, we are going to cache samples on Mars," he said. "For the first time, we are going to fly a helicopter on another world with the Mars Helicopter."

Related Links
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

NASA's Mars 2020 Mission Drops in on Death Valley
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 27, 2019
On a test flight in Death Valley, California, anAirbus helicopter carried an engineering model of the Lander Vision System (LVS) that will help guide NASA's next Mars mission to a safe touchdown on the Red Planet. During the flight - one in a series - the helicopter (which is not part of the mission and was used just for testing) and its two-person crew flew a pre-planned sequence of maneuvers while LVS collected and analyzed imagery of the barren, mountainous terrain below. LVS is an integr ... read more