Mars is a cold, dry world, but scientists have discovered a place on the Red Planet that harbors a huge reservoir of water ice – the Korolev crater. This Martian crater contains an astonishing volume of pristine ice that could tell us a great deal about Mars’ past.
The Icy Korolev Crater
Img Creator: – European Space Agency, Credit: – Flickr
The Korolev crater is located in Mars’ northern lowlands. At over 50 miles wide, it is a large crater that contains a remarkable treasure – a gigantic sheet of water ice over a mile thick and estimated to contain more ice than the volume of Lake Ontario here on Earth. This huge deposit of almost pure ice was first detected in 2018 using radar images from orbiting spacecraft.
The ice within the Korolev crater is smooth and spreads across the entire crater floor. Unlike most water ice on Mars, which lies beneath a layer of rocky debris, Korolev’s ice is exposed and shaped into a subtly curved pancake-like slab. Scientists believe the ice sheet is so well-preserved because the crater walls shield it from Mars’ thin atmosphere and minimize erosion from wind or vaporization.
A Trove of Information
The Korolev crater’s pristine ice deposit is like a frozen time capsule preserving clues to Mars’ past. Studying this ice sheet could reveal key details about Mars’ ancient climate and its potential to support life.
For example, molecules of water and air are trapped within the layered ice sheet. Analyzing these molecules could provide information on past temperatures, landscape, and climate conditions stretching back millions of years. Core samples from the ice deposit may contain evidence of ancient Martian organisms if life ever existed when Mars was warmer and wetter.
The Return to Korolev
While spacecraft orbiting Mars have mapped and imaged the icy Korolev crater from above, no missions have yet sampled or directly studied the ice up close. Future robotic missions, and one day even human astronauts on Mars, may explore the crater in person. Analysis of ice cores could reveal stunning insights into Mars’ environmental history and evolution over geological timescales.
The vast icy payload preserved within Mars’ Korolev crater offers an unprecedented scientific opportunity if we choose to seize it. For now, Korolev safeguards Mars’ secrets – waiting patiently until we are ready to unlock its frozen trove of history, evidence, and possibility from the Red Planet’s past.
