Columbia Hills (Mars)
The Columbia Hills are a range of low hills inside Gusev crater on Mars. They were observed by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit when it landed within the crater in 2004. They were promptly given an unofficial name by NASA since they were the most striking nearby feature on the surface. The hills lie approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away from the rover's original landing position. The range is named to memorialize the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. On February 2, 2004, the individual peaks of the Columbia Hills were named after the seven astronauts who died in the disaster. Spirit spent a few years exploring the Columbia Hills until it ceased to function in 2010.
The seven peaks are, from north to south:
- Anderson Hill - named after Michael P. Anderson
- Brown Hill - named after David M. Brown
- Chawla Hill - named after Kalpana Chawla
- Clark Hill - named after Laurel Clark
- Husband Hill - named after Rick Husband
- McCool Hill - named after William C. McCool
- Ramon Hill - named after Ilan Ramon
Read more about Columbia Hills (Mars): Rocks and Minerals of Columbia Hills
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