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a prime responsibility of the Mars

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Reconnaissance Orbiter has been to

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search out new landing sites for future

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missions both to find places that are

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scientifically interesting on the planet

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that have great potential for future

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discovery once we land there but also to

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make sure and de certify that we'll be

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able to land there safely next up is the

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Mars Science Laboratory to be launched

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in 2011 it will set down on the planet

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in 2012 over three dozen sites have been

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looked at intensively by the Mars

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Reconnaissance Orbiter and from that the

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final landing sites have emerged in the

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northern hemisphere of Mars the

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marvelous area is important because of

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the diversity of the mineral signatures

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that you see the great channel that cuts

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across this was carved by water but even

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the highlands here were affected by

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water and the craters that are there we

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see different mineral signatures in the

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different layers indicating the episodic

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activity of water at the planet or the

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mixing of soils by impacts in the early

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in the southern hemisphere at mars

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holding crater 60 miles across is very

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interesting because there is a channel

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that goes into the crater and here

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you're looking at the front to that the

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Delta indicating that water once flowed

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into the crater ponding as an inland sea

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or lake and then breach the far wall and

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ran out leaving layers in those layers

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we expect to find evidence of the past

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chemistry the action of water how long

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it was there they may also have the

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potential to preserve bio signatures

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that is evidence of past life if life

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had ever developed on the planet and

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the outstanding characteristic of Evers

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wall crater the thing that calls out to

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land in this area is that it has a delta

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formation like that of the Mississippi

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River in which it's obvious that

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material is float in a channel out of

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the Highlands down into this crater and

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formed a delta formation highly

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structured and layered meaning that

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there were many episodes of water

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flowing into the crater those layers

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could be preserving not only the history

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of this area as it formed over time in

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Mars and the activity of water on its

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surface but it's the kind of formation

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that could also preserve evidence of

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past life if that life had developed on

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Gale Crater in the southern hemisphere

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of Mars near the equator is an

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attractive landing site because it's a

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very deep crater more than three miles

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deep and yet at one time it must have

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been completely filled because it's

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central mound actually extends above the

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crater rim today evident in here are

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many different kinds of minerals

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sulfates sediments clay materials that

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indicated the action of water and

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because of that action of water the