Why was Meridiani Planum chosen as the initial landing site for Opportunity?
Answer
Orbital observations suggested vast deposits of hematite.
Meridiani Planum was selected as the landing target specifically because overhead observations taken from orbit indicated the presence of significant hematite deposits. On Earth, hematite, an iron oxide mineral, characteristically forms in environments where liquid water has been present. Therefore, the presence of this mineral was interpreted as the strongest initial clue that the landing site held a history involving aqueous activity, thus aligning perfectly with the rover's primary objective to seek and characterize water-formed materials.
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