More Than 60 Sites Considered for Next Mars Rover Landing

This map of Mars shows all of the more than 60 landing sites proposed for the Mars Science Laboratory (red dots) and the four final candidate sites (blue dots). Discussion by more than 150 scientists over more than five years led to the selection of the four final candidate sites: Eberswalde crater, Gale crater, Holden crater, and Mawrth Vallis. Gale eventually was selected as the landing site. The white shaded areas are more than 30 degrees north and south of the equator and off limits to MSL because of seasonally harsh (cold) conditions expected there. The black areas are too high in elevation to be considered for landing.