Miyamoto Crater is located in southwest Meridiani Planum (and southwest of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity landing site). This image shows fairly smooth plains and some areas covered by wind streaks.

The streaks suggest that wind is an active process here, depositing surface material downwind in this distinctive form.

This landing site is adjacent to the hematite-bearing plains unit where the Opportunity rover sits. The CRISM instrument has detected phyllosilicates (clay minerals) at this landing site, which scientists believe to have formed in the presence of water.

The Mars Science Laboratory rover would investigate the mineral diversity here, which includes phyllosilicates and sulfate minerals.

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.