Geomorphologic exploration targets at the Zhurong landing site in the southern Utopia Planitia of Mars

Abstract

On May 15, 2021, Tianwen-1's rover Zhurong landed successfully at 109.926°E, 25.066°N, in southern Utopia Planitia on Mars. The Zhurong landing site contains a wide range of geomorphic exploration targets including troughs, raised ridges, pitted cones, mesas, sand dunes and crater ejecta. Aspects of all of these features suggest formation through interactions between volatiles, sediments, and magma. Pitted cones are invaluable windows into the subsurface and intriguing astrobiology targets for Martian life considering that they potentially formed from diapiric upwelling of fine-grained sediments (i.e. mud volcanism), a process that on Earth is often associated with methane release. The ground-penetrating radar onboard Zhurong will provide fundamentally new perspectives on the presence, distribution, and abundance of subsurface water-ice, a strategic natural resource for future crewed Mars exploration.