Holden is a 140 km wide
crater situated within the
Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle
The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-19 (Mars Chart-19) ...
(MC-19) region of the planet
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 ...
, located with the southern highlands. It is named after American astronomer
Edward Singleton Holden
Edward Singleton Holden (November 5, 1846 – March 16, 1914) was an American astronomer and the fifth president of the University of California.
Early years
He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1846 to Edward and Sarah Frances (Singleton) ...
. It is part of the
Uzboi-Landon-Morava (ULM)
The Uzboi-Landon-Morava (ULM) outflow system is a long series of channels and depressions that may have carried water across a major part of Mars. It starts with channels that drain into the Argyre basin in the Argyre quadrangle. Water ponded ...
system.
Description
Like
Gusev, it is notable for an outlet channel,
Uzboi Vallis
Uzboi Vallis is a valley lying situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region on Mars. It is named after the Uzboy dry channel, now in Turkmenistan, which repeatedly served as the main channel of the Amu Darya river. The valley ...
, that runs into it, and for many features that seem to have been created by flowing water. It's believed that Holden crater was formed by an impact during the
Noachian
The Noachian is a geologic system and early time period on the planet Mars characterized by high rates of meteorite and asteroid impacts and the possible presence of abundant surface water. The absolute age of the Noachian period is uncertain ...
or
Hesperian
The Hesperian is a geologic system and time period on the planet Mars characterized by widespread volcanic activity and catastrophic flooding that carved immense outflow channels across the surface. The Hesperian is an intermediate and transitio ...
periods.
[Grant, J. et al. 2008. HiRISE imaging of impact megabreccia and sub-meter aqueous strata in Holden Crater, Mars. Geology: 36, 195-198.]
The crater's rim is cut with
gullies
A gully is a landform created by running water, mass movement, or commonly a combination of both eroding sharply into soil or other relatively erodible material, typically on a hillside or in river floodplains or terraces. Gullies resemble lar ...
, and at the end of some gullies are fan-shaped deposits of material transported by water. The crater is of great interest to scientists because it has some of the best-exposed lake deposits. One of the layers has been found by the ''
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, an ...
'' to contain
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
s.
Clays only form in the presence of water. There are two units of sediments in the crater. The lower unit formed in a large lake. It is believed the lake waters originated from the crater walls/or groundwater. Water from the crater walls may have come from precipitation when the Martian climate was different. The upper unit formed when water that was ponded to the south in
Uzboi Vallis
Uzboi Vallis is a valley lying situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region on Mars. It is named after the Uzboy dry channel, now in Turkmenistan, which repeatedly served as the main channel of the Amu Darya river. The valley ...
broke through Holden's rim.
It is believed that great amount of water went through the rim; one flow was caused by a body of water larger than Earth's
Lake Huron. Some of the evidence for such a large flow of water is the presence of boulders tens of meters in size sticking above the surface. To transport such huge rocks takes a great deal of water.
Holden is an old crater, containing numerous smaller craters, many of which are filled with sediment. The crater's central mountain is also obscured by sediment. Holden crater was a proposed landing site for NASA's
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 ...
, until
Gale
A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).[Eberswalde
Eberswalde () is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German State ( Bundesland / ''federated state'') of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42,144 (census in June 2005), geographi ...]
crater which contains a large delta. The lower beds of Holden are thought by some to maybe similar to materials in Eberswalde. However, Holden was considered a potential landing site for the
Mars 2020
Mars 2020 is a Mars rover mission forming part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program that includes the rover '' Perseverance'', the small robotic, coaxial helicopter '' Ingenuity'', and associated delivery vehicles. Mars 2020 was launched from ...
rover. In the second Mars 2020 Landing Site Workshop it survived the cut and was named to be among the top 8 sites in the running for the landing. Despite its promising features,
Jezero Crater
Jezero is a crater on Mars in the Syrtis Major quadrangle, about in diameter. Thought to have once been flooded with water, the crater contains a fan- delta deposit rich in clays. The lake in the crater was present when valley networks were for ...
was ultimately chosen.
Holden Crater Rim.jpg, West rim of Holden crater, as seen by THEMIS.
Holden Crater Close-up.JPG, Close-up of channels on rim of Holden crater, as seen by THEMIS.
26126contextb22 018333 1548delta.jpg, Wide view of a delta in Holden crater, as seen by CTX.
ESP 026126 1530delta.jpg, Close up view of part of delta from the previous image, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program HiWish is a program created by NASA so that anyone can suggest a place for the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to photograph. It was started in January 2010. In the first few months of the program 3000 people signed up to use HiRIS ...
26126 1530deltalayers.jpg, Close view of the previous image showing layers, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program and enlarged with HiView
Geologic history of Holden crater
Studies of the whole region around Holden crater have resulted in an understanding of a complex sequence of events that shaped the crater, which included two different lakes. A large series of rivers called the Uzboi-Ladon-Morava (ULM) system drained water from the
Argyre Basin, the site of a large lake. When an impact occurred and produced Holden crater, the system was blocked by a crater rim almost a kilometer in height. Eventually, water from drainage from the walls, with possibly a contribution from groundwater, collected to make the first lake.
[Cabrol, N. and E. Grin (eds.). 2010. Lakes on Mars. Elsevier. NY] This lake was deep and long-lasting. The lowest level of sedimentary rocks was deposited in this lake. Much water was inbounded in
Uzboi Vallis
Uzboi Vallis is a valley lying situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region on Mars. It is named after the Uzboy dry channel, now in Turkmenistan, which repeatedly served as the main channel of the Amu Darya river. The valley ...
because the rim of Holden blocked the flow. Some of the backed-up water came from
Nirgal Vallis
Nirgal Vallis is a long river channel bordering the Coprates quadrangle and Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle of Mars at 28.4° south latitude and 42° west longitude. It is 610 km long and is named after Nergal, the Babylonian god of war and ...
which had a discharge of 4800 cubic meters/second. At a certain point the stored water broke through the rim of Holden and created a second, shorter-lived lake 200–250 m deep. Water with a depth of at least 50 m entered Holden at a rate that 5-10 times the discharge of the Mississippi River.
[Grant, J., T. Parker. 2002. Drainage evolution of the Margaritifer Sinus region, Mars. J. Geophysic. Res. 107, doi:10.1029/2001JE001678.] Terraces and the presence of large rocks (tens of meters across) support these high discharge rates.
Mars Science Laboratory
Several sites in the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle were proposed as areas to send NASA's major Mars rover, the
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 ...
, ''
Curiosity
Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...
''. Holden crater made the cut to be among the top four, although
Gale
A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).[Eberswalde
Eberswalde () is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German State ( Bundesland / ''federated state'') of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42,144 (census in June 2005), geographi ...]
crater,
Mawrth Vallis
Mawrth Vallis () (Mawrth means "Mars" in Welsh) is a valley on Mars, located in the Oxia Palus quadrangle at 22.3°N, 343.5°E with an elevation approximately two kilometers below datum. Situated between the southern highlands and northern lowlan ...
,
Miyamoto crater,
Nili Fossae
Nili Fossae is a group of large, concentric grabens on Mars, in the Syrtis Major quadrangle. They have been eroded and partly filled in by sediments and clay-rich ejecta from a nearby giant impact crater, the Isidis basin. It is at approximat ...
trough, and southern
Meridiani Planum
The Meridiani Planum (alternately Meridiani plain, Meridiani plains, Terra Meridiani, or Terra Meridiani plains) is either a large plain straddling the equator of Mars and covered with a vast number of spherules containing a lot of iron oxide or ...
.
.
See also
*
List of craters on Mars
References
External links
ESA Mars Express: Crater Holden and Uzboi VallisHiRISE image of layers in Holden*
Lakes on Mars - Nathalie Cabrol (SETI Talks)High resolution videoby Seán Doran of overflight of Holden (reached about 3/4 of the way through; passes to the right of
Hale
Hale may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hale, Northern Territory, a locality
*Hale River, in southeastern Northern Territory
Canada
*Hale, Ontario, in Algoma District United Kingdom
* Hale, Cumbria, a hamlet near Beetham, Cumbria
*Hale, Greater Man ...
and
Bono earlier)
{{Authority control
Impact craters on Mars
Mars 2020
Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle