Boulder abundances and size-frequency distributions on Oxia Planum-Mars: Scientific implications for the 2020 ESA ExoMars rover

This study provides a quantitative evaluation of the abundances of boulders ≥ 1.75 m across on Oxia Planum: it is therefore a reference for the ExoMars 2020 mission, both during the landing phase and the rover traverse to specific areas of interest. The landing ellipse presents much higher abundances of boulders ≥ 1.75 m than all previous Martian rover landing areas. This is particularly evident when the rougher Av unit is taken into account. Contrarily, the Nc unit shows a much more comparable value, but still slightly higher, to the Mars Pathfinder landing site. We provide illustrative navigating scenarios for both the Nc and the Av units as well.