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Mars 2020 Landing Site:
Jezero Crater Flyover

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This flyover was produced from
NASA images taken from orbit.

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The blue circle indicates the
area the rover will likely land.

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The arcing hills in the center,
about 1600 feet high,

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and are the rim
of Jezero Crater.

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The goal of Mars 2020
is to learn

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whether life ever
existed on Mars.

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It's too cold and dry
for life to exist

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on the Martian surface today.

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But after Jezero Crater formed
billions of years ago,

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water filled it to
form a deep lake

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about the same size
as Lake Tahoe.

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Eventually, as Mars' climate
changed, Lake Jezero dried up.

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And surface water
disappeared from the planet.

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An ancient lake is a fantastic
place to pursue our goal

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of looking for
possible Martian life.

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On Earth, lakes are filled
with living creatures.

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Evidence of that life is often
preserved in the mud and sand

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deposited on the
bottom of the lake.

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So we use the rover's
instruments to explore

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the rocks of the
ancient lake bed.

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Here we can see evidence
of the former lake.

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A canyon cutting
through the crater rim

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was carved by a river.

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As the water entered
the lake it slowed

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and dropped the sand
and mud it was carrying

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to form the fan-shaped delta.

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The white line is a path the
rover might follow

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in its first two years,
called the prime mission.

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During this period we use the
rover science instruments

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to analyze the lake sediments.

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After we explore the delta,

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we hope to investigate the
shoreline of the former lake.

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To get there we have to
traverse around

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a sea of modern sand dunes.

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From this perspective you
can see former shorelines

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curving around a headland.

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We can picture waves in Lake
Jezero beating on a sandy beach.

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And finally we will press
on to the crater rim.

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Jezero Crater formed when a
large object collided with Mars,

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excavating rocks from deep
in the Martian crust,

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exposing them in the
rim for us to study.

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These rocks would have been hot
shortly after the impact

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and may have hosted hot springs.

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Deposits from these springs
would be another target

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in our search for possible
ancient life on Mars.

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NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory