Mars Photo of the Day - Apr 3 2012

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Today's Image of Mars shows a potential landing site in Holden Crater for the 2018 joint ExoMars rover, as taken by HiRISE. Holden Crater is 140km in diameter and numerous clays and sediments that could only have formed in the presence of water.

Holden Crater was one of the top four candidate landing sites for the Mars Science Laboratory, which is landing in August 2012. The crater holds some of the best exposed lake deposits yet discovered on Mars, which makes it a prime landing site for any and all future missions to Mars that hope to determine whether Mars once did, or still does support life.

NASA recently backed out of the ExoMars mission due to budgetary cuts, which forced the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) to take a much larger role in the mission. The joint ESA-Roscosmos mission appears to be going ahead on schedule with an orbiter expected to launch in 2016 and the rover expected to launch in 2018, but at this point anything could happen.

It remains to be determined where on Mars the ExoMars rover will be sent, but we can be sure that Holden Crater is among the top candidates! Clicking on this image will take you to all Mars Travel posts related to Holden Crater because the original HiRISE image is not yet captioned.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Feb 20 2012

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Today's Image of Mars comes from HiRISE and shows a potential landing site for a future missions to Mars in Holden Crater. Holden Crater is a 140km wide crater located in the southern highlands. It is believed that Uzboi Valles fed into Holden Crater and created a massive lake.

Currently, potential landing sites require at least a 12 mile wide circle of smooth, flat terrain so that the spacecraft can lend safely even within a margin of error.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter determined that Holden Crater contains numerous sediments and clays that could only have formed in the presence of water. The crater also has some of the best exposed lake deposits scientists have ever seen, making it a prime candidate for future missions to Mars.

Holden Crater made it into the top four candidate landing sites for Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity, but was ultimately beaten out by Gale Crater. We can be sure that Holden Crater will remain among the top candidates for future missions to Mars!

Clicking on this image will take you to other potential future landing sites showcased by Mars Travel!

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Mars Photo of the Day - Sept 9 2011

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'Today's Mars Photo is of Holden and Eberswalde Crater as taken by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express Orbiter. Holden crater is on the left and measures 140 km across, whereas Eberswalde Crater, on the right, measures 65 km in diameter. The rim of Eberswalde Crater is only intact on the right side because it was covered by the ejecta from the impact that created Holden Crater.

Mars Express recently found evidence that indicates a huge lake once existed in Eberwalde Crater. This photo gives some perspective as to the crater's surroundings. Click the image to see it enlarged and in high resolution. 

Taken by Mars Express on August 15 2009. 

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