Abstract
ABSTRACT The main goal of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos ExoMars rover mission is to collect samples from the near-subsurface of Mars. The rover will look for any physical or chemical evidence of ancient life in the near subsurface. This map shows the distribution of impact craters at this proposed landing site in Oxia Planum on Mars. The map records 1199 impact craters > 500 m in diameter in a 5.0° × 2.5° region around Oxia Planum. The impact craters are symbolised based on the way different aspects of their morphology have degraded since their formation. The distribution of degradation and burial morphologies of impact craters can be used to determine where burial and erosion processes have occurred. Because the formation of impact craters is well constrained, occurs instantly and with a predictable flux, future studies could use this knowledge and our dataset to constrain when these events occurred.
Highlights
We have mapped the distribution of impact degradation states for 1199 impact craters >500 m in diameter in a 5.0° × 2.5° region at Oxia Planum, Mars, the proposed landing site of the European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars rover
The distribution and degradation of 1999 craters in Oxia Planum are shown in a sample map (Figure 4) and the Map of Impact Crater Degradation at Oxia Planum, Mars
Rayed craters smaller than 500 m in diameter exist in Oxia Planum (e.g.: 18°20′30′′N, 24°6′0′′W) and there are possibilities for these craters to be included in further studies of the area at a smaller scale
Summary
We have mapped the distribution of impact degradation states for 1199 impact craters >500 m in diameter in a 5.0° × 2.5° region at Oxia Planum, Mars, the proposed landing site of the European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars rover. The landing site, and our study area, are located on the transition between the ancient (> 3.7 Ga; Noachian age) Arabia Terra region and the low lying younger surface (< 3.0 Ga; Amazonian) of Chryse Planitia to the northwest (Figure 1). This area is important for ESA and Roscosmos’s rover mission due to the identification of a widespread clay-bearing unit which is the primary target of astrobilogical interest for the rover (Carter et al, 2016; Mandon et al, 2021; QuantinNataf et al, 2021). The claybearing unit likely represents such an environment from which the rover will collect samples
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