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The Oxia Palus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Oxia Palus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-11 (Mars Chart-11).〔Davies, M.E.; Batson, R.M.; Wu, S.S.C. “Geodesy and Cartography” in Kieffer, H.H.; Jakosky, B.M.; Snyder, C.W.; Matthews, M.S., Eds. ''Mars.'' University of Arizona Press: Tucson, 1992.〕 The quadrangle covers the region of 0° to 45° west longitude and 0° to 30° north latitude on Mars. This quadrangle contains parts of many regions: Chryse Planitia, Arabia Terra, Xanthe Terra, Margaritifer Terra, Meridiani Planum and Oxia Planum. Mars Pathfinder landed in the Oxia Palus quadrangle at , on July 4, 1997. Crater names in Oxia Palus are a Who's Who for famous scientists. Besides Galilaei and DaVinci, some of the people who discovered the atom and radiation are honored there: Curie, Becquerel, and Rutherford.〔U.S. department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey, Topographic Map of the Eastern Region of Mars M 15M 0/270 2AT, 1991 〕 Mawrth Vallis was strongly considered as a landing site for NASA's next Mars rover, the Mars Science Laboratory.〔http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/mars-science-laboratory-curiosity-landing-sites-100615.htm〕 This quadrangle contains abundant evidence for past water in such forms as river valleys, lakes, springs, and chaos areas where water flowed out of the ground. A variety of clay minerals have been found in Oxia Palus. Clay is formed in water, and it is good for preserving microscopic evidence of ancient life.〔http://themis.asu.edu/features/marwrthvillis〕 Recently, scientists have found strong evidence for a lake located in the Oxia Palus quadrangle that received drainage from Shalbatana Vallis. The study, carried out with HiRISE images, indicates that water formed a 30-mile-long canyon that opened up into a valley, deposited sediment, and created a delta. This delta and others around the basin imply the existence of a large, long-lived lake. Of special interest is evidence that the lake formed after the warm, wet period was thought to have ended. So, lakes may have been around much longer than previously thought. 〔http://www.colorado.edu/news/r/7e9c22ec0cd6dabc007bb14ed2e29f16.html〕〔http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090617-Mars-lake.html〕 In October 2015, Oxia Planum, a plain located near , was reported to be the preferred landing location for the ExoMars rover. == Surface appearance == The Mars Pathfinder found its landing site to contain a great deal of rocks. Analysis shows the area to have a greater density of rocks than 90% of Mars. Some of the rocks leaned against each other in a manner geologists term imbricated. It is believed strong flood waters in the past pushed the rocks around to face away from the flow. Some pebbles were rounded, perhaps from being tumbled in a stream. Some rocks have holes on their surfaces that seem to have been fluted by wind action. Small sand dunes are present. Parts of the ground are crusty, maybe due to cementing by a fluid containing minerals. In general the rocks show a dark gray color with patches of red dust or weathered appearance on their surfaces. Dust covers the lower 5–7 cm of some rocks, so they may have once been buried, but have now become exhumed. Three knobs, one large crater, and two small craters were visible on the horizon.〔Golombek, M. et al. 1997. Overview of the Mars Pathfinder Mission and Assessment of Landing Site Predictions. ''Science'': 278. pp. 1743–1748〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Oxia Palus quadrangle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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