Mars 2020: NASA Picks Landing Spot For The Next Mars Rover
Five years after the Mars 2020 project was first announced, we finally have a landing spot for the next Mars rover. Following a long process of scrutiny and selection, NASA has chosen Jezero Crater as the touchdown area for the Mars 2020 rover.
Unveiled yesterday as the final destination of the next robotic mission to Mars, Jezero Crater was picked out of more than 60 candidate locations — all with great scientific potential for the Mars 2020 mission. Once an ancient river delta, the 28-mile-wide crater is rife with geologic diversity and is currently seen as the best hope of finding signs of past life on the red planet.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, Jezero Crater was already viewed as a prime location for biosignatures of past microbial life on Mars. The area boasts at least five different types of rock that could be sampled by the Mars 2020 rover — which will hopefully provide unparalleled insight into the habitability of the red planet.
