Landing Site
The landing site was an ancient flood plain in Mars's northern hemisphere called "Ares Vallis" ("the valley of Ares", the ancient Greek equivalent of the ancient Roman deity Mars) and is among the rockiest parts of Mars. Scientists chose it because they found it to be a relatively safe surface to land on and one that contained a wide variety of rocks deposited during a catastrophic flood. After the landing, at 19°08′N 33°13′W / 19.13°N 33.22°W / 19.13; -33.22Coordinates: 19°08′N 33°13′W / 19.13°N 33.22°W / 19.13; -33.22, succeeded, the landing site received the name The Carl Sagan Memorial Station in honor of the late astronomer.
Read more about this topic: Mars Pathfinder
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)