Northeast Syrtis
A former candidate landing site for Mars 2020.
Northeast Syrtis is a region on Mars that was considered as a potential landing site for the Mars 2020 rover mission but was ultimately not selected. Located in the northern hemisphere at 18°N, 77°E, it lies within the northeastern part of the Syrtis Major volcanic province and the ring structure of the Isidis impact basin. The area is notable for its diverse morphological features and minerals indicating past water flow, suggesting it may have been an ancient habitable environment.
Quick Facts
- Coordinates
- 18°N, 77°E
- Landing ellipse size
- 16 x 14 km / 8.7 mi
- Location
- Northeastern part of Syrtis Major volcanic province, within Isidis impact basin ring structure
Facts from the source article.
Regional stratigraphy
The stratigraphy of Northeast Syrtis is divided into four major units from young to old: Syrtis Major lavas (high-calcium pyroxene), layered sulfate-bearing unit (poly-hydrated sulfates and jarosite), olivine unit (olivine altered to carbonate and serpentine), and basement unit (Fe/Mg smectite and low-calcium pyroxene altered to aluminum-clay materials). The basement unit records early-stage planetary evolution, and the shift from carbonate to sulfate indicates a transition from alkaline-neutral to acid aqueous environments.
Mars 2020 mission
The Mars 2020 rover launched in July 2020 on an Atlas V rocket, arriving at Mars in February 2021. It uses entry, descent, and landing systems similar to the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity, including the sky crane. Its primary goals include exploring a likely habitable site, searching for signs of past life, and collecting rock and regolith samples for potential return to Earth. Although Northeast Syrtis survived the cut in the third Mars 2020 Landing Site Workshops, it failed final competition. The landing ellipse for Northeast Syrtis is 16 x 14 km, with a smaller 13.3 × 7.8 km ellipse possible using Terrain-Relative Navigation. A notable feature is a mesa consisting of five subunits: crater-retaining cap, boulder-shedding slopes with lightened blocks, olivine-carbonate unit, and Fe/Mg-phyllosilicate, providing access to diverse rocks. The dark-toned cap on top, composed of meter-scale boulders, is interpreted as Hesperian Syrtis Major lava flows or lithified ash. Igneous samples from this region could provide key timing for the Isidis impact event, emplacement of the olivine-rich unit, dark-toned mafic cap rock, and Syrtis lava flows, improving knowledge of early Mars and the late-heavy bombardment.
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