Ice skating on Mars ?

[abarbarian]

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Mars_Express_gets_festive_A_winter_wonderland_on_Mars

 

 

20 December 2018

This image shows what appears to be a large patch of fresh, untrodden snow – a dream for any lover of the holiday season. However, it’s a little too distant for a last-minute winter getaway: this feature, known as Korolev crater, is found on Mars, and is shown here in beautiful detail as seen by Mars Express.

 

 

Korolev crater is 82 kilometres across and found in the northern lowlands of Mars, just south of a large patch of dune-filled terrain that encircles part of the planet’s northern polar cap (known as Olympia Undae). It is an especially well-preserved example of a martian crater and is filled not by snow but ice, with its centre hosting a mound of water ice some 1.8 kilometres thick all year round.

 

The crater was first photographed back in April of this year.

 

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Exploration/ExoMars/ExoMars_returns_first_images_from_new_orbit

 

The image captures a 40 km-long segment of Korolev Crater located high in the northern hemisphere. The bright material on the rim of the crater is ice.

 

 

[securitybreach]

Neat stuff, thanks