Choosing a Landing Site with Mars Virtual Explorer

Using the cd-rom Mars Virtual Explorer, you and your partner will explore different possible landing areas and make a recommendation to your crew.

Getting Started:

• Find and open PC, and click on the MarsVEpc icon
• Click on NASA Start icon
• Watch introduction
• Then go to main menu and enter the landing site dome at the far right

You will find there are four possible landing sites:

1. Candor Chasma
2. Olympus Mons
3. Chryse Plantia
4. Ares Valles

Investigate each of these areas. Your review of each landing site will require that you carefully complete a log for each of the three "views" of each landing site available on Mars VE:

1. Topographical view
2. Photo view
3. 3-D virtual reality view

After gathering information about the possible sites, choose your top TWO sites to recommend. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each site (Are there certain kinds of rocks there you want to research? Is the weather more dependable? Does it have more hours of sunlight? Does the terrain seem level? Is it near a geologic feature of interest?) There is no correct answer. Your grade will be based on the thoroughness of your research and how well you present your opinion.

Homework:

Please submit any notes you take on the sites as well as your written recommendations for grading.