ESA’s Mars Express Sends Stunning Hi-Res Christmas Card from the Ice Filled Korolev Crater

Don't you just wanna get on there.


The Martian ice rink is located near the northern polar cap , it's 37 miles in diameter with a depth of just over a mile and stays frozen all year round so perfect for die hard skaters to practice their moves whatever time of year.


Right click the image and open in new tab for the full view or download the 2.47 MB TIF image Here for ultimate coolness.

Mars Express celebrates its 15th anniversary on Christmas day , happy anniversary guys.

a reply to: gortex

NICE!
I wonder if its frozen water or gas,maybe c02?

If its water it could be a great place for a base-or even if its frozen gas it may be easier to tunnel through to make an under ice base than the martian bedrock.

Good place to hide from the radiation.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

I should have clarified that it is mostly water ice mixed with Martian dust mate , I can also confirm it makes a fine desktop wallpaper.

a reply to: gortex

That's a beauty, can't deny that.

a reply to: gortex

it makes a fine desktop wallpaper

did it already

thanks for sharing this beautiful picture

a reply to: gortex

A 37 mile diameter crater up to a mile deep,filled with water ice and dust-
Perfect for a long term base,you could use the water to drink,grow food,and seperate in into hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe,using electricy.

And you could practice all of this first with robots under Antarctica.

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
a reply to: gortex

A 37 mile diameter crater up to a mile deep,filled with water ice and dust-
Perfect for a long term base,you could use the water to drink,grow food,and seperate in into hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe,using electricy.

And you could practice all of this first with robots under Antarctica.

And so many people still think there is no water. Ice counts.

a reply to: gortex

This is why we need to fund space exploration.

Not just for pretty pictures.

But because there was a time when science thought there was no water on mars at all nor could there be.

Just imagine what unknown resources are on the other planets.

We just have to go get them.

Probably not in my lifetime but there will one day be a "gold rush" in space.

Just imagine what us humans will be building at that level.

Inspiring pic.

a reply to: gortex

that is cool! thanks!

originally posted by: Justoneman

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
a reply to: gortex

A 37 mile diameter crater up to a mile deep,filled with water ice and dust-
Perfect for a long term base,you could use the water to drink,grow food,and seperate in into hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe,using electricy.

And you could practice all of this first with robots under Antarctica.

And so many people still think there is no water. Ice counts.

They've known for a while that water-ice exists on Mars. Back in the 1960s, it was known that the polar ice caps were a mix of both carbon dioxide ice and water ice. By the 1970s, that idea was refined to be that the polar caps are primarily water ice with a thin layer of CO2 ice on top of that.

It is believed the water-ice in Korolev Crater persists (instead of sublimating away under Mars' generally very low atmospheric pressure) is the the crater acts as a local trap for air being chilled by the ice, and that trapped chilled air layer is heavier (because cold air is denser), and that heavier air provides enough pressure to keep the water-ice form sublimating into the atmosphere.

a reply to: gortex

its methane ice.

originally posted by: odzeandennz
a reply to: gortex

its methane ice.

Nope , it's water ice.

Korolev is an ice-filled impact crater in the Mare Boreum quadrangle of Mars, located at 73° north latitude and 165° west longitude. It is 81.4 kilometres in diameter and contains about 2,200 cubic kilometres of water ice, comparable in volume to Great Bear Lake in northern Canada.
en.wikipedia.org...(Martian_crater)

originally posted by: odzeandennz
a reply to: gortex

its methane ice.

As Gortex pointed put, it's water-ice.

Like I said in my post, it's able to persist without sublimating away (as water generally would in the generally low atmospheric pressures of Mars) because the crater acts as a trap for cooler, heavier air -- air that is heavy enough to push down with enough pressure to keep the water-ice from sublimating.

That's a great perspective view, of a great-looking crater!

originally posted by: scraedtosleep
a reply to: gortex

This is why we need to fund space exploration.

Not just for pretty pictures.

But because there was a time when science thought there was no water on mars at all nor could there be.

Just imagine what unknown resources are on the other planets.

We just have to go get them.

Probably not in my lifetime but there will one day be a "gold rush" in space.

Just imagine what us humans will be building at that level.

Inspiring pic.

forgive me for being Donnie Downer
it's not worth it. and won't be for a long long time.
I think this stuff is interesting. I love science. but it's not worth the millions.
even if we find diamonds or unobtanium its not worth recovering, even if we had the technology, which is decades away.

a reply to: gortex

Being that it is water-ice makes it very interesting. Thanks for posting the cool pic.

originally posted by: scraedtosleep
a reply to: gortex
But because there was a time when science thought there was no water on mars at all nor could there be.

There was also a time when we thought it had massive oceans, lakes, canals, etc...

A large portion of the 1800's, several astronomers attempted to map out the water channels of Mars.

originally posted by: ElGoobero

originally posted by: scraedtosleep
a reply to: gortex

This is why we need to fund space exploration.

Not just for pretty pictures.

But because there was a time when science thought there was no water on mars at all nor could there be.

Just imagine what unknown resources are on the other planets.

We just have to go get them.

Probably not in my lifetime but there will one day be a "gold rush" in space.

Just imagine what us humans will be building at that level.

Inspiring pic.

forgive me for being Donnie Downer
it's not worth it. and won't be for a long long time.
I think this stuff is interesting. I love science. but it's not worth the millions.
even if we find diamonds or unobtanium its not worth recovering, even if we had the technology, which is decades away.

My counter argument - We currently waste monetary resources on far stupider endeavors. Is it so much to ask, to take a little away from the "Milk causes cancer." "Milk cures cancer." research, and do something that has a real long term tangible benefit?

That's a hefty little Lake there, 37 miles wide, and a mile deep, is actually a serious dimple. I live in a very Lake populated area and that there is a particularly deep ice puddle. There is also some evidence of what looks like gas out that is collecting on the Rim, left edge inside, right edge out... Maybe an out flow area at the top.... Which seems to indicate it replenishes.

Ice, ice, baby!!



Really wish Opportunity would respond...

Yeah funding for the new stuff is the reason but if the old stuff is still working why try to kill it??

ETA: The money is already spent so why b!tch about funds for other things?? Just had to ask..