&sq=&lang=&file=File:Question_book-new.svg){kind=small} | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (September 2008) |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Meridiani_Planum_PIA13704.jpg) Color-coded for minerals and annotated | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 2°53′S 7°00′W / 2.88°S 7.0°W |
| Quadrangle | Margaritifer Sinus |
| Diameter | 160.0 km |
| Eponym | Shotaro Miyamoto |
Miyamoto is a crater within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars, west of the Plains of Meridiani. It is 150 kilometers (93 mi) wide. Its northeastern half is filled with rocks formed in the presence of water and include minerals of iron and sulfur, which likely settled on lake bottoms or in groundwater systems. In the southwestern half of the crater floor, erosion has stripped these materials away, revealing clays and other materials like those found in the most ancient Martian rocks. More than 3.5 billion years old, they date to the Noachian era at which time, liquid water was likely present at the surface and could have created an environment favorable to life.[1] Miyamoto was considered as a possible landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory.
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This article incorporates public domain material from "Possible MSL Landing Site". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA. 25 September 2008. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
