Back Cràter Gússev Catalan Gusev (kráter) Czech Gusev (Marskrater) German Gusev (cráter marciano) Spanish Gusev-kraatteri Finnish Goussev (cratère) French Gusev (krater na Marsu) Croatian Cratere Gusev Italian グセフ (火星のクレーター) Japanese 구세프 분화구 Korean
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Gusev_crater_Spirit_landing_ellipse.jpg) The Martian crater Gusev, with Ma'adim Vallis snaking into it | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Region | Aeolis quadrangle |
| Coordinates | 14°30′S 175°24′E / 14.5°S 175.4°E[1] |
| Quadrangle | Aeolis |
| Diameter | 166 km |
| Eponym | Matvey Gusev |
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Gusev is a crater on the planet Mars and is located at 14°30′S 175°24′E / 14.5°S 175.4°E and is in the Aeolis quadrangle. The crater is about 166 kilometers in diameter and formed approximately three to four billion years ago. It was named after Russian astronomer Matvey Gusev (1826–1866) in 1976.
Prior to the exploration of the crater by the Spirit Rover, the crater was postulated to be an ancient lakebed with Ma'adim Vallis draining into it, of volcaniclastic origin, or a combination of both. These interpretations were based on Viking orbiter imagery, MOC imagery, THEMIS thermal mapping, and MOLA elevation mapping. However, Spirit did not find any lacustrine deposits, instead Spirit found alkaline volcanic rocks, including olivine basalt, comminuted basaltic debris, lavas, and pyroclastic rocks, but no eruption centers.[2][3]
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More recently, satellite images showed the trails of dust devils on Gusev's floor. The Spirit rover later photographed dust devils from the ground, and likely owes much of its longevity to dust devils cleaning its solar panels.
On January 3, 2004, Gusev was the landing site of the first of NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers, named Spirit. It was hoped that the numerous smaller and more recent craters in this region would have exposed sedimentary material from early eras, although at first the region proved disappointing in its lack of available bedrock for study on the flat lava plains of the crater. It eventually arrived at the Columbia Hills, however, and rocks examined in that region showed evidence of small amounts of briny (salty) water interacting with them in ancient times,[4] although not nearly as much as at Meridiani Planum, the landing area for Spirit's twin, Opportunity. In 2009, Spirit became stuck in the soil of the region, and in 2010 went offline after a harsh Martian winter. Gusev was also considered a potential landing site for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.
- ^ "Gusev". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ^ McSween, Harry; Moersch, Jeffrey; Burr, Devon; Dunne, William; Emery, Joshua; Kah, Linda; McCanta, Molly (2019). Planetary Geoscience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 178–184, 296–300. ISBN 9781107145382.
- ^ Burnham, Robert (9 April 2014). "Gusev Crater once held a lake after all, says ASU Mars scientist". Arizona State University. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
- ^ "Aqueous processes at Gusev crater inferred from physical properties of rocks and soils along the Spirit traverse". AGU. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2006-07-18.