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 similar to 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. Published by Elsevier Ltd.