An ice-covered Martian crater through the eye of the Mars Express probe
The European Space Agency has published photographs of the water ice-filled Korolov crater. The crater is located near the north pole of the Red Planet, is 82 kilometers in diameter and nearly two kilometers deep.
The images were taken by the Mars Express probe, whichoThe mission began on June 2, 2003. Six months poIt later reached Mars. After the launch of the deepowth an engine satellite entered orbit wokoRed Planet’s shoal on December 25. In a few days it will be the 15th anniversary of the probe’s science program.
The images were taken with a High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). The image consists of five roof different parts combined into a single photo. Each part of the photo was taken from a different orbit. The crater is shown in perspective, contextual and topographic views. They all make up a complete view of the terrain inside the crater and wokoĊ it.
Korolov crater was formed by a massive collision in Mars’ distant past. It is 82 kilometers in diameter. It is located on the poMars’ northern lowlands, south of a large area filled with dunes thatora surrounds part of the poThe planet’s northern polar cap known as Olympia Undae. It is named after Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolov – father of Soviet space technology.
It is a particularlyoA particularly well-preserved example of a Martian crater. It is filled not with snow, but with ice, ktorego amount was estimated at 2,200 kilometersoin cubic. Like Earth, Mars has seasons, and like on our planet, warmer seasons cause the ice to retreat. But not in the Korolov crater. A 1.8-kilometer-thick layer of water ice persists year-round in the center of the crater.
This phenomenon of so-called. cold trap. Air, whichore gets over the crater, it rapidly cools and subsides, forming a kind of protective layer lod. This shield of cold air makes lod does not heat up and does not evaporate.
Photos from whichoThe Mars Express probe took the image in April.
