Mission Timeline: Pre-launch Activities: Landing Site Selection

The final landing site selection for Mars Science Laboratory is planned for June 2009. The selection process began in June 2006, when Mars scientists from around the world attended a workshop and compiled a list of 100 potential landing sites. Mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory then transmitted the list of sites to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for closer examination. Using the most powerful cameras and spectrographic instruments ever sent to the red planet, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been collecting data to help scientists evaluate each potential landing site in greater detail.

The mission team has been progressively narrowing the field of landing sites. By September, 2008, the number of candidate landing sites was reduced to seven. Later in the fall, the number will be further reduced to three or four, with a final site planned for selection by Spring, 2009.

Seven Candidate Landing Sites More about Each Proposed Site!

The ideal landing site will have clear evidence of a past or present habitable environment. The site will have a favorable geologic record, such as layers of rock that are preserved and exposed at the surface, making them accessible to exploration, as well as evidence of past water. The ideal landing site will also have the elements essential to life as we know it, all located within a relatively smooth, safe landing area. Mobility, of course, will be essential for reaching areas such as cliffs that may contain many layers of rocks telling the story of past environments on Mars. That is why the Mars Science Laboratory rover will be able to travel at least 20 kilometers (12 1/2 miles) from its landing site.

In the interest of planetary protection, NASA may choose to exclude sites from exploration that are believed to be likely sites of any possible microbial life that might be present. Planetary protection is essential to preserve our ability to study other worlds as they exist in their natural states and to avoid introducing Earth life in a way that would obscure our ability to find life elsewhere.

[More at NASA's Planetary Protection Site]