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Published online 25 September 2008 | 455, 575 (2008) | doi:10.1038/455575a
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Ancient water sites for next rover
Planetary scientists shortlist top landing sites on Mars.
The next Mars rover could end up down in the delta if a group of geologists and astrobiologists get their way.
The Mars science community has ranked a landing site called Eberswalde Crater as the most tantalizing destination for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), the US$2-billion rover that is due to launch in 2009.
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It seems not a good idea to send a rover into an impact crater again, just because the crater seems to contain the remnants of a meandering river that spilled into a lake. That was the reasoning to select Gusev as the landing site for Spirit. We have already done that, and the results were not very exciting from a water/life point of view. Out of the 7 remaining sites, only 2 seem to offer really new excitement: Mawrth Vallis and Nili Fossae. The water-related mineralogies at this sites would make it worthwhile the trip.