Water ice found on Mars
Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2024 7:46 pm
Water Ice Has Officially Been Found On Mars:
This image, captured by ESA’s Mars Express, showcases the Korolev crater, an 82-kilometer-wide structure located in the northern lowlands of Mars.
Korolev crater on Mars resembles a vast field of snow but is actually filled with ice. The crater, located in Mars’ northern lowlands near the Olympia Undae dune fields, spans 82 kilometers and has a central ice mound up to 1.8 kilometers thick that remains year-round due to a unique “cold trap” phenomenon.
This occurs because the crater’s floor, two kilometers deep, cools the air above the ice, creating a stable layer of cold air that prevents the ice from melting. This effect is heightened as air is a poor heat conductor, keeping the crater permanently icy.
The images, captured by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), mark 15 years since the spacecraft began its mission, having entered Mars’ orbit on 25 December 2003.
Korolev crater is named after Sergei Korolev, a pioneer of Soviet space technology, known for his work on the Sputnik and Vostok programs, as well as early interplanetary missions.
Other missions, such as ESA’s ExoMars program, have also shown interest in this region to explore the possibility of past life on Mars. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, operating since April 2018, captured a detailed image of the crater’s northern rim, highlighting its unique icy landscape.
IMAGE CREDIT: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
This image, captured by ESA’s Mars Express, showcases the Korolev crater, an 82-kilometer-wide structure located in the northern lowlands of Mars.
Korolev crater on Mars resembles a vast field of snow but is actually filled with ice. The crater, located in Mars’ northern lowlands near the Olympia Undae dune fields, spans 82 kilometers and has a central ice mound up to 1.8 kilometers thick that remains year-round due to a unique “cold trap” phenomenon.
This occurs because the crater’s floor, two kilometers deep, cools the air above the ice, creating a stable layer of cold air that prevents the ice from melting. This effect is heightened as air is a poor heat conductor, keeping the crater permanently icy.
The images, captured by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), mark 15 years since the spacecraft began its mission, having entered Mars’ orbit on 25 December 2003.
Korolev crater is named after Sergei Korolev, a pioneer of Soviet space technology, known for his work on the Sputnik and Vostok programs, as well as early interplanetary missions.
Other missions, such as ESA’s ExoMars program, have also shown interest in this region to explore the possibility of past life on Mars. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, operating since April 2018, captured a detailed image of the crater’s northern rim, highlighting its unique icy landscape.
IMAGE CREDIT: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin