By 
August 20th, 2015
Credit: Mars Landing Site Steering Committee/T. Goudge, et al.
Space scientists and engineers are surveying dozens of landing zones for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover…and the early votes are in. But it took a martian-style form of “Rubric’s cube” to sort through and pinpoint ideal locales to achieve mission goals.
JPL’s Matt Golombek, co-chair of the Mars Landing Site Steering Committee, helps moderate site selection discussion.
Credit: Leonard David
Roughly 30 candidate landing areas were once on the reasonable roster. Regions of Interest (ROIs) in and near these landing sites have been mulled over for science potential – including having Red Planet machinery, for the first time, gather and stash samples for possible return to Earth by a future mission.
The intent of all this effort is to pick idyllic sites that have the geological and biological capacity to have preserved past martian life.
Mars experts gathered at 2020 Mars Rover landing site meeting.
Credit: Leonard David
Some 200 researchers and engineers took part in the second landing site workshop for the 2020 Mars Rover mission, held in Monrovia, California on August 4-6.
For a report on this meeting, go to my new Space.com story at:
Where Will NASA’s 2020 Mars Rover Land?
by Leonard David, Space.com’s Space Insider Columnist
August 20, 2015 07:01am ET
http://www.space.com/30320-nasa-2020-mars-rover-landing-site.html
Posted in Space News
