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A preliminary regional geomorphologic map in Utopia Planitia of the Tianwen-1 Zhurong Landing Region

Mackenzie M Mills·Alfred S. McEwen·Chris Okubo
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Abstract

A geomorphologic map is an important step to understanding the geologic context and history of a site; here, we present an initial geomorphologic map for an area spanning 22°–26°N, 108°–112°E in the Utopia Planitia (UP) region on Mars. This site is of special interest because it contains the May 2021 landing site of the Zhurong rover from Tianwen-1. Utopia Planitia exhibits many lobate features that have been proposed to be lava or mud flows. Lander and rover data should help solve the scientific question concerning the origin of UP flows. We use our map to generate an initial stratigraphic framework of geomorphological features in order to help place future Zhurong data into the regional geologic context. Our mapping effort has detailed the distribution of three geomorphologic units and 11 types of surface features.

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Mackenzie M Mills, Alfred S. McEwen, Chris Okubo. 2021-09-25. A preliminary regional geomorphologic map in Utopia Planitia of the Tianwen-1 Zhurong Landing Region. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl094629

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