SpaceX Starship potential Mars landing sites uncovered in NASA images

SpaceX isn't kidding around about its Mars plans. Elon Musk's space company seems to have requested images of potential Mars landing sites from NASA.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRise camera database includes a small group of images labeled as "Candidate landing site for SpaceX Starship."

SpaceX Starship potential Mars landing sites uncovered in NASA images

HiRise has 12 images on it's website of candidate landing sites for the SpaceX Mars missions. Gonna download and look at some of them. I will try and post a few images. They look kinda boring, all I see in the thumbnails are boulders. Most if not all of the sites were chosen because of the possibility of water at the landing sites.


HiRise Images

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Thanks for the heads up. It will be interesting on what site is finally chosen.

I enjoy reading about the progress. There really hasn't been much new about a manned landing for a while now.

Kind regards,

Bally

What a fantastic thing it would be if Elon let the people of the world pick where it should land. A giant online poll with the winner being the most requested, safe location.

NASA would never allow this in their (our) programs, however they have indeed contributed the details to pick from.

Global empowerment.

originally posted by: charlyv
What a fantastic thing it would be if Elon let the people of the world pick where it should land. A giant online poll with the winner being the most requested, safe location.

NASA would never allow this in their (our) programs, however they have indeed contributed the details to pick from.

Global empowerment.

Oh yes, let us as a species ignore the input from the scientists making they're living by having an understanding of which sites are actually a good idea and which are suicide...
instead we should listen to the worthless masses, and take a popular vote!
which landing site promotes the most free services for the lazy?

I appreciate the idea of letting the people have a say- but I'm fairly certain mcdonalds tried that idea with their next promotion and proved the masses incapable of decision making

originally posted by: lordcomac

originally posted by: charlyv
What a fantastic thing it would be if Elon let the people of the world pick where it should land. A giant online poll with the winner being the most requested, safe location.

NASA would never allow this in their (our) programs, however they have indeed contributed the details to pick from.

Global empowerment.

Oh yes, let us as a species ignore the input from the scientists making they're living by having an understanding of which sites are actually a good idea and which are suicide...instead we should listen to the worthless masses, and take a popular vote! which landing site promotes the most free services for the lazy?

I'm pretty sure the idea would be to say, "OF THESE SITES DEEMED SAFE, which one would you choose?" I'm just guessing here, but I'm pretty sure a mountainous terrain site won't be on the list. But how about Cydonia?

I'd prefer a site safely near the Valles Marineris region. Far enough to be safe, but close enough for a drone flight into the canyon.

Now THAT would be worth drone footage, and would definitely drum up public support for another mission. Something NASA has desperately forgotten over the years. They traded public support (and the funding that goes with it) for purely science missions. There should be a balance IMO, since without public support, you will have less funding and the effect of less science actually possible.

a reply to: lordcomac

In such a scenario, I would expect scientific academia to step in. There would be thousands of recommendations that would also help to educate the public about the specifics of different landing areas.The poll results would have foundation in science.

a reply to: LookingAtMars
I was involved as a cartographer and photogrammetrists mapping for NASA the 'Apollo Lunar Landing Sites'. It was not easy to find reasonably smooth and non sloping areas that was not also heavily cratered, it was a challenge with safety as the top priority.

However Mars will be a different story, it should be much easier to find safe landing areas on Mars. Good luck to those cartographers, I probably trained a few of the younger ones decades ago that are still working.

I admire the way Elon musk is pushing and preparing for a manned Mars landing.

Or, on the other hand:

Humans Will Never Colonize Mars

a reply to: lunarcartographer

Wow, cool story 👍
I would sooo have a pint with you and listen to your tales 😀 🍺

These are some small crops taken from some of the images.

They all look like good landing sites to me. I would think easy to get to water will be a determining factor on where to land.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Do remember seeing an image with the logistics a trip to mars would take, about 10-15 loads of the "heavy" rocket, assemble the ship in orbit with the mars lander, extra fuel, supplies etc. but main problem is how to keep a crew in good shape in space for more than two years with no artificial gravity.

Great story! I have a question though. Do they have to have a concrete pad on Mars to land properly. Who's going to build that? The wedged fins look like they would continue to sink into the ground and be unstable.