Geological Diversity of Paleolakes in the Northwest Arabia Terra, Mars: Implications for Landing Site Selection of Tianwen‐3 Mission

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Abstract Hundreds of paleolakes have been identified across Mars. Due to their unique morphological features and astrobiological significance, paleolakes have been selected as landing sites of several Mars in situ exploration missions. Tianwen‐3 is China's second Mars mission and plans to launch in 2028 and return at least 500 g Mars samples around the year 2030. Its primary scientific objective is to search for signs of life and evaluate the habitability of Mars. To achieve this goal, choosing suitable landing sites is fundamentally important. Considering the engineering constraints of the mission, we propose that paleolakes in the northwest Arabia Terra, which has a prolonged aqueous history, are ideal candidate landing sites. However, detailed identification and geological characterization of potential paleolakes have not been conducted. In this study, we utilize multi‐source high‐resolution remote sensing data to investigate the geomorphology, mineralogy, and age of the potential paleolakes. A total of 46 potential crater‐hosted paleolakes are identified, with 37 of them being reported for the first time. Sedimentary landforms such as fan‐shaped and layered deposits in the lake basins are mapped, and new outcrops of possible aqueous minerals, including clays and sulfates are discovered. Age determination reveals a long time span of lacustrine activity extending from the Middle Noachian to Amazonian. On these bases, we discuss the geological diversity of the potential paleolakes and propose three high‐value candidate landing regions for Tianwen‐3 mission. Our work provides clues to understand the habitability and geological evolution of Mars, as well as supports the implementation of Tianwen‐3 mission.

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