Nilo Syrtis (or Nilosyrtis) is a region just north of

Syrtis Major Planum Syrtis Major Planum (formerly Syrtis Major Planitia) is a massive shield volcano in the eastern hemisphere of Mars. A "dark spot" (an albedo feature), Syrtis Major Planum is located in the boundary between the northern lowlands and southern high ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, at approximately 23°N, 76°E and an elevation of −0.5 km. It marks a region of transition (a "

crustal dichotomy Crust may refer to: Common meanings Food * Crust (baking), the outer layer composed of pastry or salt * Crust, the bread foundation of pizza * Bread crust, the dense surface layer of bread Physical sciences * Crust (geology), the outer lay ...

") between southern highland and northern lowland terrain, and consists of isolated peaks and

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...

s. On average, the drop in elevation between the two terrains is 5,500 meters (18,000 feet).

Mars Science Laboratory

Nilosyrtis is one of the sites proposed as a landing site for the

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale (crater), Gale Crater on Augus ...

. However, it did not make the final cut. It was in the top 7, but not in the top 4. The aim of the Mars Science Laboratory is to search for signs of ancient life. It is hoped that a later mission could then return samples from sites identified as probably containing remains of life. To safely bring the craft down, a 12-mile-wide, smooth, flat circle is needed. Geologists hope to examine places where water once ponded. They would like to examine sediment layers.

Gallery

Image:Niolsyrtis Landing Site.JPG, Landing Site in Nilosyrtis, as seen by THEMIS. Site is flat and contains water-altered clay minerals. Image:Nilosyrtis hirise.JPG, Nilosyrtis, as seen by HiRISE. Image:Layers in Monument Valley.jpg, Layers in Monument Valley. These are accepted as being formed, at least in part, by water deposition. Since Mars contains similar layers, water remains as a major cause of layering on Mars.

References

Surface features of Mars Syrtis Major quadrangle {{mars-stub