Planet Mars Landing Site Candidate: Possible Chloride Salt Deposits | NASA MRO

Planet Mars Landing Site Candidate: Possible Chloride Salt Deposits | NASA MRO

There is an intriguing surface unit in parts of the ancient Martian highlands that may consist of chloride salts (like NaCl, or table salt) that precipitated out of shallow lakes as in desert regions of Earth.

This site has unusual thermal properties and distinctive morphologies, but lacks spectral absorption bands. All of these characteristics and the geologic settings are consistent with salt deposits. These deposits are often associated with clay minerals that do have distinctive absorption bands.

Image cutout is less than 1 km (under 1 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 266 km (165 mi). 

Local Mars time: 15:01

Latitude (centered): -5.625°

Longitude (East): 353.871°

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE. It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

For more information on MRO, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mro

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/mission/index.html

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Caption Credit: Alfred McEwen

Image Date: Jan. 21, 2010
Release Date: Jan. 8, 2025

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