Selecting landing sites for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers

A two-plus year process of identifying and evaluating landing sites for the NASA 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers began with definition of mission science objectives, preliminary engineering requirements, and identification of ∼155 potential sites in near-equator locations (these included multiple ellipses for locations accessible by both rovers). Four open workshops were used together with ongoing engineering evaluations to narrow the list of sites to four: Meridiani Planum and Gusev Crater were ranked highest for science, with southern Isidis Basin and a “wind safe” site in Elysium following in order. Based on exhaustive community assessment, these sites comprise the best-studied locales on Mars and should possess attributes enabling mission success.