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Solar System Scratchpad

[Boiler Plate]

Destination for the Curiosity rover, located at the border of the Southern Highlands of Mars and the Northern Lowlands. It may have been a lake in the past. The rover will search for signs of present or past microbes in the surface. Central peak is higher than any mountain in the continental United States. The crater is bisected by a grand canyon like feature where water may have flowed. Landing site contains material that has washed down from the crater's rim.

Gale Crater Web Pages[]

Geography[]

  • Aeolis Region - Region containing an inverted waterbed.
    • Gale Crater
      • Aeolis Palus - A plain ("marsh") in between Aeolis Mons and the northern crater rim where water is thought to have flown. Curiosity landed here.
        • Yellowknife Quad - /Quadrant of Aeolus Palus that Opportunity landed in.
          • Bradbury Landing - The site where Curiosity landed. Four scorch marks can be seen here. Named after Ray Bradbury, the author of the Martian Chronicles, who had died a few months prior to the landing.
          • Yellowknife Bay - Low lying depression (possible ancient lake) in Gale Crater. Main target of Curiosity's primary mission. Drilling rock samples John Klein and Cumberland were taken from here.
      • Naukluft Plateau - Plateau at Gale Crater.
      • Murray Buttes - Murray Buttes
      • Bagnold Dunes - A long stretch sand dunes that Opportunity had to traverse in order to get to Mt. Sharp. First active dunes explored on another world. Curiosity visited it twice, with the second being a more linear stretch.
      • Vera Rubin Ridge - Also known as the Hematite Ridge. Parallels the northern foothills of Mt. Sharp. Rocks were harder than hoped for here.
      • Aeolis Mons - The mountain in at the center of Gale Crater (nicknamed Mount Sharp) that curiosity is exploring. Taller than any mountain in the continental US.

Gale Crater In the News[]

One Candidate to Be Chosen Among Top Two (Jul 2011)[]

Committee Fails to Select Landing Site (May 2011)[]

See Mars, Eberswalde Crater, Mawrth Vallis, Holden Crater

Gale Crater Named Target of Curiosity (Aug 2011)[]

Video Tour of Gale Crater[]

Curiosity will Go (Aug 2011)[]

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