Aeolis Palus is a

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

between the northern wall of

Gale crater Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, at in the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars. It is in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5–3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur ast ...

and the northern

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topogr ...

Aeolis Mons Mount Sharp, officially Aeolis Mons (), is a mountain on Mars. It forms the central peak within Gale (crater), Gale crater and is located around , rising high from the valley floor. Its ID in the United States Geological Survey's Gazetteer of ...

(Mount Sharp) on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. It is located at . The NASA

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigati ...

mission landed the ''Curiosity'' rover on Aeolis Palus in August 2012. ''Curiosity'' spent two (Earth) years exploring the plain as it drove towards Aeolis Mons. The rover left the plain in September 2014 when it reached the mountain's foothills.

Spacecraft exploration

On August 5, 2012, at 10:32 p.m. PDT/mission time (August 6, 2012, at 5:32 UTC), mission control at JPL received a signal from the NASA ''Curiosity'' rover that it had successfully landed in "Yellowknife" ''Quad 51'' of ''Aeolis Palus''. The rover's mission is to explore the surface area of Gale Crater focusing first near its landing site on ''Aeolis Palus'' and then venturing into the nearby foothills of

(unofficially, "Mount Sharp") to investigate its geological features and strata. On September 26, 2013, NASA scientists reported the

''Curiosity'' rover detected "abundant, easily accessible"

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

(1.5 to 3 weight percent) in soil samples at the Rocknest region of ''Aeolis Palus'' in

Gale Crater Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, at in the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars. It is in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5–3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur ast ...

. In addition, NASA reported the rover found two principal soil types: a fine-grained mafic type and a locally derived, coarse-grained felsic type. The mafic type, similar to other martian soils and

martian dust Martian soil is the fine regolith (a blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock) found on the surface of Mars. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil, including its ...

, was associated with hydration of the amorphous phases of the soil. Also,

perchlorates A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. Per ...

, the presence of which may make detection of life-related

organic molecules In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The s ...

difficult, were found at the ''Curiosity'' rover landing site (and earlier at the more polar site of the

Phoenix lander ''Phoenix'' was an uncrewed space probe that landed on the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008, and operated until November 2, 2008. ''Phoenix'' was operational on Mars for sols ( days). Its instruments were used to assess the local habitabilit ...

) suggesting a "global distribution of these salts". NASA also reported that Jake M rock, a rock encountered by ''Curiosity'' on the way to Glenelg, was a

mugearite Mugearite () is a type of oligoclase-bearing basalt, comprising olivine, apatite, and opaque oxides. The main feldspar in mugearite is oligoclase. Mugearite is a sodium-rich member of the alkaline magma series. In the TAS classification of volc ...

and very similar to terrestrial mugearite rocks. On December 9, 2013, NASA reported that, based on evidence from ''Curiosity'' studying Aeolis Palus,

contained an ancient

freshwater lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

which could have been a hospitable environment for

microbial life A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

. On December 16, 2014, NASA reported detecting, based on measurements by the ''Curiosity'' rover, an unusual increase, then decrease, in the amounts of

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane ...

in the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A ...

of the planet

; in addition,

organic chemical In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon- hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. T ...

s were detected in powder drilled from a rock by the ''Curiosity'' rover. Also, based on

deuterium Deuterium (or hydrogen-2, symbol or deuterium, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen (the other being protium, or hydrogen-1). The nucleus of a deuterium atom, called a deuteron, contains one proton and one ...

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

ratio studies, much of the

on Mars was found to have been lost during ancient times, before the lakebed in the crater was formed; afterwards, large amounts of water continued to be lost.

Bradbury Landing

"Bradbury Landing" is a named location on ''Aeolis Palus''. It is where the ''Curiosity'' rover landed. The coordinates of the landing site are: . The landing site location was named for science fiction author

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and ...

. NASA announced the name on Bradbury's 92nd birthday, August 22, in honor of the author who died a few months earlier on June 5, 2012. Michael Meyer, NASA program scientist for ''Curiosity'', said "This was not a difficult choice for the science team. Many of us and millions of other readers were inspired in our lives by stories Ray Bradbury wrote to dream of the possibility of life on Mars." Bradbury wrote a collection of stories called ''

The Martian Chronicles ''The Martian Chronicles'' is a science fiction fix-up novel, published in 1950, by American writer Ray Bradbury that chronicles the exploration and settlement of Mars, the home of indigenous Martians, by Americans leaving a troubled Earth th ...

'' in the 1940s. The ''Curiosity'' team left a message on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

"In tribute, I dedicate my landing spot on Mars to you, Ray Bradbury. Greetings from Bradbury Landing!" NASA released a video of Bradbury reading his poem "If Only We Had Taller Been".

Images

Image:Mars Curiosity video msl20120810.ogv, ''Curiosity'' rover landing site in ''Aeolis Palus'' and surroundings — first 360 color panorama (August 8/10vid, 2012). Image:Ray Bradbury at Caltech 12 November 1971.ogv, In honor of the naming of Bradbury Landing, NASA released a video of

reading his poem, "If Only We Had Taller Been". Image:PIA19674-Mars-GaleCrater-SurfaceMaterials-20150619.jpg, Gale crater - surface materials (false colors;

THEMIS In Greek mythology and religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, fai ...

;

2001 Mars Odyssey ''2001 Mars Odyssey'' is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use ...

). Image:Curiosity Cradled by Gale Crater.jpg,

rises from the middle of

- Green dot marks the ''Curiosity'' rover landing site in ''Aeolis Palus''. Image:Mars Science Laboratory landing ellipse reduced.jpg,

- Landing site is within ''Aeolis Palus'' near Aeolis Mons ("Mount Sharp") - North is down. Image:PIA19080-MarsRoverCuriosity-AncientGaleLake-Simulated-20141208.jpg, Ancient Lake fills Gale Crater on Mars (simulated view). Image:PIA17596-MarsCuriosityRover-AncientLake-20131209.jpg, Ancient Lake on ''Aeolis Palus'' in

- possible size (December 9, 2013). Image:PIA16064-Mars Curiosity Rover Treasure Map.jpg, ''Curiosity'' rover landing site (green dot) - Blue dot marks Glenelg Intrigue - Blue spot marks "Base of

Mount Sharp Mount Sharp, officially Aeolis Mons (), is a mountain on Mars. It forms the central peak within Gale crater and is located around , rising high from the valley floor. Its ID in the United States Geological Survey's Gazetteer of Planetary Nom ...

" - a planned area of study. Image:Curiosity Rover Landing Site - Quadmapping Yellowknife.jpg, ''Curiosity'' rover landing site - " Quad Map" includes "Yellowknife" ''Quad 51'' of ''Aeolis Palus'' in

. Image:Mars Curiosity Rover - Yellowknife Landing Site.jpg, ''Curiosity'' rover landing site - "Yellowknife" '' Quad 51'' (1-mi-by-1-mi) of ''Aeolis Palus'' in

. Image:PIA15696-HiRISE-MSL-Sol11 2 -br2.jpg, MSL debris field viewed by

HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the '' Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction ...

on August 17, 2012 - parachute is from the rover.Mars Science Laboratory: Multimedia-Images
/ref> (3-D
rover
and
parachute
Image:Curiosity Rover (Exaggerated Color) - HiRISE - 20120814.jpg, ''Curiosity's'' landing site (

Bradbury Landing Bradbury Landing is the August 6, 2012, landing site within Gale crater on planet Mars of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ''Curiosity'' rover. On August 22, 2012, on what would have been his 92nd birthday, NASA named the site for author Ra ...

) viewed by

( MRO) (August 14, 2012). Image:PIA16204-MarsCuriosityRover-Rocknest-20120928.jpg, " Rocknest" sand patch in ''Aeolis Palus'' - between "

" and Glenelg (September 28, 2012). Image:673885main PIA15986-full full.jpg, ''Aeolis Palus'' with Aeolis Mons ("Mount Sharp") as viewed by the ''Curiosity'' rover (August 6, 2012). Image:PIA16134-Mars Curiosity Rover Wheels.jpg,

Wheels A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to b ...

on the ''Curiosity'' rover - "

" is in the background ( MAHLI, September 9, 2012). Image:PIA17085-MarsCuriosityRover-TraverseMap-Sol351-20130801.jpg, First-Year & First-Mil
Traverse Map
of the ''Curiosity'' rover on Mars (August 1, 2013)
3-D
.

References

External links

''Aeolis Palus'' and

:
Google Mars scrollable map
- centered on ''Aeolis Palus''.
''Aeolis Palus'' - ''Curiosity'' rover "StreetView" (Sol 2 - 08/08/2012) - NASA/JPL - 360° Panorama''Aeolis Palus'' - ''Curiosity'' rover Mission Summary - Video (02:37)''Aeolis Palus'' - Image/Soil Closeup

- Image/THEMIS VIS 18m/px Mosaic (Zoomable)
small

''Aeolis Palus''
/

- Image/HRSCview
Video (04:32) - Evidence: Water "Vigorously" Flowed On Mars - September, 2012
{{Portal bar, Solar System, Astronomy, Biology Aeolis quadrangle Mars Science Laboratory Plains on Mars Rocks on Mars Water on Mars Gale (crater) Articles containing video clips

Spacecraft exploration

Bradbury Landing

Images

See also

References

External links