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Date Entered: 25 July 1989
Date Last Revised: March 1993
The area is located near Ares Valles, a major outflow channel with its source area (chaotic terrain) amidst ancient highlands.
Scientific Rationale
Geologic and meteorologic assessment of the Ares Valles outflow channel region.
Objectives
Obtain composition of ancient highland assemblages, channel material, and chaotic terrain. There are also some local patches of ridged plains material.
Potential Problems
To be determined.
Trafficability
To be determined.
Estimated Traverse Distance
To be determined.
Exobiology Significance
The proposed landing site is located within an ~90 km diameter crater at 2 deg. N, 16 deg. W just north of where an east branch of Ares Valles enters the crater from the south. Although the duration of hydrologic activity may have been brief, the crater-basin was undoubtedly a site for fluvial, and possibly also, lacustrine sedimentation. The major outflow channels in this area are believed to have been formed by catastrophic releases of water from sources further south. Although the timing of events is problematic, it seems unlikely that the lacustrine environments of interest persisted for long. Accordingly, this site is given relatively low priority in the search for a fossil record.
A site of potentially greater interest for imaging is a small tributary that joins the western fork of the major outflow channel northwest of the site discussed above. This small tributary is sourced locally and may have had an origin independent of the major outflow channel to which it is tributary. The channel which appears to have formed by spring sapping, originates from an amphitheater-shaped area near the margin of a semi-circular area of chaotic terrain. It is postulated that this circular terrain may be a thermokarst feature formed above a subsurface heat source, possibly an igneous intrusive that interacted with ground ice. If a near surface heat source was present, this spring-like channel may have been sustained by hydrothermal activity for some time. The potential for thermal spring mineralization at this site makes it a potentially favorable place to search for a fossil record. However, high resolution visible range imaging is needed to confirm the postulated relationships, and infrared spectral data is required for evaluating the surface mineralogy.
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