Observations and interpretations of geomorphologic features in the Tianwen-1 landing area on Mars by using orbital imagery data

Abstract

China’s first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen-1, successfully landed in southern Utopia Planitia on Mars on May 15, 2021. This work presents a detailed investigation of the geologic context of the landing area surface for this mission based on orbital remote-sensing data. We constructed a geomorphologic map for the Tianwen-1 landing area. Results of our detailed geomorphologic map show several major landforms within the landing area, including rampart craters, mesas, troughs, cones, and ridges. Analysis of materials on the landing area surface indicates that most of the landing area is covered by Martian dust. Transverse aeolian ridges are widely distributed within the landing area, indicating the surface contexts were (and still are) modified by regional winds. In addition, a crater counting analysis indicates the landing area has an absolute model age of ~3.3 Ga and that a later resurfacing event occurred at ~1.6 Ga. Finally, we outline four formational scenarios to test the formation mechanisms for the geomorphologic features on the landing area surface. The most likely interpretation to explain the existence of the observed surface features can be summarized as follows: A thermal influence may have played an important role in the formation of the surface geomorphologic features; thus, igneous-related processes may have occurred in the landing area. Water ice may also have been involved in the construction of the primordial surface configuration. Subsequent resurfacing events and aeolian processes buried and modified the primordial surface.