Utopia Planitia

E480821

Utopia Planitia is a vast plain in Mars’ northern lowlands, notable as a major landing region for multiple Mars missions.

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Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form Occurrences
Terra Meridiani 1
Vastitas Borealis 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Martian geological feature
plain on Mars
cataloguedIn USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature NERFINISHED
climateZone mid- to high-latitude Martian region
consideredFor future human landing sites on Mars
coordinateSystem areocentric coordinates
discoveredBy telescopic and spacecraft observations of Mars
elevationRelativeToDatum below Martian mean radius (lowland)
geologicalContext large impact basin infill
hasAlbedoFeatureName Utopia Planitia NERFINISHED
hasApproximateDiameter ~3300 km (Utopia basin scale)
hasLanguageOfName Latin
hasMorphology features consistent with freeze–thaw processes
features consistent with ground-ice degradation
hasPotentialResource water ice in subsurface
influences selection of Mars landing ellipses
landingSiteOf Mars missions from CNSA
Mars missions from NASA
Tianwen-1 Zhurong rover NERFINISHED
Viking 2 lander NERFINISHED
locatedInHemisphere northern hemisphere of Mars
locatedInQuadrangle Casius quadrangle NERFINISHED
locatedInRegion Martian northern lowlands NERFINISHED
locatedOnPlanet Mars NERFINISHED
namedAfter Utopia (mythical place) NERFINISHED
nameMeaning Nowhere Plain NERFINISHED
notableFor being a major landing region for Mars missions
observedBy Mars Global Surveyor NERFINISHED
Mars Odyssey NERFINISHED
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter NERFINISHED
Tianwen-1 orbiter NERFINISHED
Viking orbiters NERFINISHED
partOf Utopia impact basin
relatedFeature Utopia Mensae NERFINISHED
Utopia Rupes NERFINISHED
scientificInterest climate history of Mars
periglacial landforms
possible subsurface ice
studiedInDiscipline astrobiology
planetary geology
surfaceFeatures cratered plains
pitted cones
polygonal patterned ground
scalloped depressions
surfaceType vast plain
terrainType relatively smooth terrain
usedAsReference landing site context in Mars mission planning

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Opportunity landingRegion Utopia Planitia
this entity surface form: Terra Meridiani
Phoenix lander landingSite Utopia Planitia
this entity surface form: Vastitas Borealis
Tianwen-1 landingSite Utopia Planitia
Viking 2 landingSite Utopia Planitia