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Archive photo: Hellas Planitia region of Mars, where scientists believe that small lakes come and go regularly.
(NASA / JPL / USGS)
Scientists have chosen the landing site of a robot mission on Mars that will look for signs of extraterrestrial life.
The ExoMars rover is expected to be screened in space in 2010, but should not land on the red planet until March 2021 and break through its surface to find any trace of life that may have existed.
Experts working on the joint Euro-Russian project have chosen an area called Oxia Planum because it is believed that the site once contained a large volume of water billions of years ago.
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The other main opponent was Mawrth Vallis – a channel formed by huge floods between the southern highlands and the northern lowlands.
Aram Dorsum, who is in the highlands of Arabia Terra, north of the crater Crommelin, was also on the short list of possibilities.
The decision should be officially confirmed next year when it will be approved by the project leaders.
Professor John Bridges from the University of Leicester, a member of the group, said that after four years of extensive studies, the site was chosen because its fine sediments would be ideal for drilling the rover.
He said: "With a huge watershed, sediments will have captured organic matter in a wide variety of environments over a long period of time, including in areas where life could have existed.
"A large group of scientists worked on the proposal, the characterization and the selection of the sites, all of which had fascinating aspects, but Oxia Planum is clearly the winner of the scientific and technical constraints".
The layers of clay-rich minerals found in the area also suggest that it was once the location of a gigantic lake.
It is hoped that the rover will drill two meters below the surface of the planet looking for signs that life was better on the planet about 4 billion years ago when the planet was full of water.
Jorge Vago, scientist of the ExoMars project of the European Space Agency (ESA), said: "With ExoMars, we are looking for biosignatures.
"While both sites offer valuable scientific opportunities to explore ancient water-rich environments that could have been colonized by microorganisms, Oxia Planum has gained a majority of votes."
Putting a robot on Mars has proven difficult in the past, so it was necessary to determine where the most likely sites would be opposed to the chances of actually being able to land a boat in the area.
It is thought that the low area of Oxia Planum will allow more time for a parachute to slow the descent of the robot on the surface.
Sue Horne, responsible for space exploration at ESA, said: "Our end goal is in sight and it becomes very exciting."
This story originally appeared in The Sun.
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