Oxia Planum
Oxia Planum is a plain located on Mars that has been chosen as a preferred landing location for the ExoMars rover, with an elevation more than 3000 metres below the Martian mean.Overview
Oxia Planum contains one of the largest exposures of clay-bearing rocks and are around 3.9 billion years old. The site is iron-magnesium rich clays, indicating that water once played a role here. The site sits in an area of valley systems with the exposed rocks exhibiting different compositions, indicating a variety of deposition and wetting environments.
Clay accumulation underneath the remnants of a fan or delta near the outlet of Coogoon Vallis may offer preservation for biosignatures against the planet's harsh radiation and oxidation environment.
