Utopia Planitia

Common card · No. 474149

Utopia Planitia (Greek and Latin: "Utopia Land Plain") is a large plain within Utopia, the largest recognized impact basin on Mars and in the Solar System with an estimated diameter of 3,300 km (2,100 mi). It is the Martian region where the Viking 2 lander touched down and began exploring on September 3, 1976, and the Zhurong rover touched down on May 14, 2021, as a part of the Tianwen-1 mission. It is located at the antipode of Argyre Planitia, centered at 46.7°N 117.5°E / 46.7; 117.5. It is also in the Casius quadrangle, Amenthes quadrangle, and the Cebrenia quadrangle of Mars. The region is in the broader North Polar/Borealis Basin that covers most of the Northern Hemisphere of Mars. The Utopia basin is estimated to have formed around 4.3-4.1 billion years ago. The impactor was likely around 400–700 kilometres (250–430 mi) in diameter. The basin was subsequently mostly filled in, resulting in a mascon (a strong positive gravity anomaly) detectable by orbiting satellites. Many rocks...

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