The Meridiani Planum is a Martian equatorial plain located west of the Sinus Meridiani. In 2004, Opportunity landed at the site to study something that had intrigued scientists for many years: hematite. On Earth, this iron oxide appears almost exclusively associated with liquid water. And, of course, the question was obvious What were (disproportionate amounts of) hematites like you doing in a (so extremely dry) place like Mars?
However, most of us do not know the Meridiani Planum for that, but for something much more prosaic: it is one of the huge plains that Mark Watney (Matt Damon) had to traverse in the film ‘The Martian’. The only problem is that, obviously, the images in the film were not taken on Mars, but in Wadi Rum (Jordan) where Lawrence of Arabia set up one of his base camps. Fortunately, we have more ways to see the mighty landscapes of the Martian equator.
