Which Mars missions helped with the selection of a landing location on the Martian surface?
Sara: In a way, data/imagery from all previous successful missions has helped in determining an appropriate landing site. Current missions that have helped extensively with this and are currently involved are Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Express. Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images from the Mars Global Surveyor mission were widely used in locating potential landing sites before HiRISE images became available. 2) Was the location primarily selected due to the possibility of finding life? Or was it to aid the understanding of surface composition for future manned missions? Sara: The landing site was not chosen with the intent of finding life. The landing site was chosen because of the nature of the surface and the lack of hazards to landing (i.e. large expanses with little variation on the surface, low abundance of large boulders, low surface slopes, relatively smooth surface texture) and evidence for ground ice near the surface. The payload of instruments is particul
