Amenthes quadrangle

Amenthes quadrangle
Map of Amenthes quadrangle from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. The highest elevations are red and the lowest are blue.
Coordinates15°00′N 247°30′W / 15°N 247.5°W / 15; -247.5
Image of the Amenthes Quadrangle (MC-14). The southern part includes heavily cratered highlands; the northern part contains Elysium Planitia; and the eastern half includes Isidis basin.

The Amenthes quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Amenthes quadrangle is also referred to as MC-14 (Mars Chart-14).[1] The quadrangle covers the area from 225° to 270° west longitude and from 0° to 30° north latitude on Mars. Amenthes quadrangle contains parts of Utopia Planitia, Isidis Planitia, Terra Cimmeria, and Tyrrhena Terra.

The name Amenthes is the Egyptian word for the place where the souls of the dead go.[2]

This quadrangle contains the Isidis basin, a location where magnesium carbonate was found by MRO. This mineral indicates that water was present and that it was not acidic. There are Dark slope streaks, troughs (fossae), and river valleys (Vallis) in this quadrangle.

The Beagle 2 lander was about to land in the quadrangle, particularly in the eastern part of Isidis Planitia, in December 2003, when contact with the craft was lost. In January 2015, NASA reported the Beagle 2 had been found on the surface in Isidis Planitia (location is about 11°31′35″N 90°25′46″E / 11.5265°N 90.4295°E / 11.5265; 90.4295).[3][4] High-resolution images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter identified the lost probe, which appears to be intact.[5][6][7] (see discovery images here)

  1. ^ Davies, M.E.; Batson, R.M.; Wu, S.S.C. “Geodesy and Cartography” in Kieffer, H.H.; Jakosky, B.M.; Snyder, C.W.; Matthews, M.S., Eds. Mars. University of Arizona Press: Tucson, 1992.
  2. ^ Blunck, J. 1982. Mars and its Satellites. Exposition Press. Smithtown, N.Y.
  3. ^ Ellison, Doug (16 January 2015). "re Beagle 2 location on Mars => "Using HiView on image ESP_039308_1915_COLOR.JP2 I get 90.4295E 11.5265N"". Twitter & JPL. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  4. ^ Grecicius, Tony; Dunbar, Brian (16 January 2015). "Components of Beagle 2 Flight System on Mars". NASA. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  5. ^ Webster, Guy (16 January 2015). "'Lost' 2003 Mars Lander Found by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter". NASA. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Mars Orbiter Spots Beagle 2, European Lander Missing Since 2003". The New York Times. Associated Press. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  7. ^ Amos, Jonathan (16 January 2015). "Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars". BBC. Retrieved 16 January 2015.