page_title: Northeast Syrtis
section_title: Megabreccia
hierarchical_section_title: Northeast Syrtis / Mars 2020 mission / Region of interest / Mesa unit / Megabreccia
caption_attribution_description: English: Layer sulfate unit in Northeast Syrtis
context_page_description: Northeast Syrtis is a region of Mars once considered by NASA as a landing site for the Mars 2020 rover mission. This landing site failed in the competition with Jezero crater, another landing site dozens of kilometers away from Northeast Syrtis. It is located in the northern hemisphere of Mars at coordinates 18°N,77°E in the northeastern part of the Syrtis Major volcanic province, within the ring structure of Isidis impact basin as well. This region contains diverse morphological features and minerals, indicating that water once flowed here. It may be an ancient habitable environment; microbes could have developed and thrived here.
  The layered terrain of Northeast Syrtis is unique on the surface of Mars, containing diverse aqueous minerals such as like clay, carbonate, serpentine and sulfate, as well as igneous minerals such as olivine and high-calcium and low-calcium pyroxene. Clay minerals form in the interaction between water and rock and sulfate minerals usually form through intense evaporation on Earth. Similar processes may happen on Mars forming these minerals, which strongly suggests a history of water and rock interaction.
context_section_description: Megabreccia occurs throughout the basement unit of Northeast Syrtis. The composition of these megabreccias is complex, including altered or mafic material. These megabreccias may be uplifted and exposed by the Isidis Basin forming event. The megabreccia could reveal the nature of the remnant of Mars's primary crust or the Noachian-aged low-calcium pyroxene lavas. It also could constrain the timing of Martian dynamo activity.
caption: Layer sulfate unit in Northeast Syrtis.
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