A photo released by the ESA Thursday shows a 51 mile wide flat circle of water-ice on Mars in the mile deep Korolev crater that resembles an alien ice skating rink
The water is frozen in a location that allows it to remain perpetually frozen and consists of 531 cubic miles of ice.
The photo was stitched together from five images captured by a high-resolution camera aboard the [Mars Orbiter Express], which has been circling the Red Planet for the past 15 years. Each of the five "strips" used to create the composite image was taken during a separate orbit.
The article notes that
"This particular crater is very close to the polar ice cap, and the inside of the crater is at a lower elevation and more shadowed, so it creates a cold trap where the ice is stable"
This is reminiscent of the Lunar ice containing cold traps that may be used for oxygen, water, and fuel by future moon installations.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Monday December 24 2018, @04:34PM (1 child)
Zamboni is a cool name for a cool piece of equipment.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 24 2018, @05:09PM
I think that in some of the grand theft auto games (or maybe it was saints row), you can punch a zamboni driver in the face and steal his ride. that is awesome.