Hypanis Valles

Hypanis Valles
Proposed (but rejected) Mars Science Laboratory landing site in Hypanis Valles.
Coordinates 9°36′N 46°42′W / 9.6°N 46.7°W / 9.6; -46.7Coordinates: 9°36′N 46°42′W / 9.6°N 46.7°W / 9.6; -46.7
Length 231.0 km
Naming Classical name for river in Scythia; present Kuban River in Russia.

Hypanis Valles is a 270 km valley in Xanthe Terra on Mars at 11° N, 314° E, in the Lunae Palus quadrangle. It appears to have been carved by long-lived flowing water, and a significant deposit (interpreted by some to be a river delta) exists at its outlet into the lowlands.[1]


It was named for a river in Scythia; present Kuban River in Russia.[2]


Research described at a Planetary Conference in Texas in the spring of 2018 suggested that the Hypanis Valles fan complex is a delta with multiple channels and lobes, which formed at the margin of a large, standing body of water. That body of water was a northern ocean. This delta is at the dichotomy boundary between the northern lowlands and southern highlands near Chryse Planitia. It is the largest proposed delta system on Mars.[3]


Exploration

Hypanis Valles was one of the sites proposed as a landing site for the Curiosity rover of the Mars Science Laboratory mission,[1] to assess the past habitability potential of that zone. However, it did not make the final cut.

Hypanis Valles was also one of the four semifinalist candidate landing sites for the ExoMars rover mission,[4][5] due to launch in 2018, though it was eventually eliminated from the running. The goal of ExoMars is search for signs of any past or present life on Mars. The rover would land on the distal deposits adjacent to the Hypanis river delta and the nearby Sabrina delta. These deposits are likely to be composed of fine grained sediment, having been laid down in a low energy environment, where any potential biosignatures could be preserved.

References

  1. 1 2 Sites of Potential Long Term Sub-surface Water, Mineral-rich Environments, and Deposition in South Elysium Planitia, Hellas-Dao Vallis, Isidis Basin, and Xanthe-Hypanis Vallis: Candidate Mars Science Laboratory Landing Sites. L. S. Crumpler.
  2. ↑ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2609
  3. ↑ Fawdon, P., et al. 2018. HYPANIS VALLES DELTA: THE LAST HIGH-STAND OF A SEA ON EARLY MARS. 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2018 (LPI Contrib. No. 2083). 2839.pdf
  4. ↑ The Hypanis fluvial deltaic system in Xanthe Terra: a candidate ExoMars 2018 Rover landing site. Sefton-Nash, E.; Fawdon, P.; Gupta, S.; Balme, M.; Davis, J.; Grindrod, P.; Sidiropoulos, P.; Yershov, V. and Muller, J.-P. (2015). 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 16-20th March 2015, Houston, TX.
  5. ↑ Recommendation for the Narrowing of ExoMars 2018 Landing Sites. 1 October 2014. ESA.

See also

Further reading

  • Baker, V.R.; Carr, M.H.; Gulick, V.C.; Williams, C.R. & Marley, M.S. "Channels and Valley Networks". In Kieffer, H.H.; Jakosky, B.M.; Snyder, C.W. & Matthews, M.S. Mars. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.
  • Carr, M.H. "Channels, Valleys and Gullies". The Surface of Mars. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87201-0.




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