The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered signs and minerals in the craters of Mars that suggest that there was once water there, the Roscosmos press service reports.
The first crater, 11 km in diameter, is located on the northern plains of Mars at coordinates 55°16’51.6” N/106°25’3.4” W, north of Mount Alba. The images revealed several ice-covered ledges facing north, clearly visible thanks to the bright white carbon dioxide frost. The frost disappears in the spring, but remains in these cracks for a long time due to their orientation towards the pole of the planet.
Ritchie Crater is located at 309.06°E/28.13°S, just south of Valles Marineris, where TGO also recently discovered massive amounts of water, either in the form of ice or hydrated minerals.
The Trace Gas Orbiter of the Russian-European ExoMars 2016 mission captured the contrasting colors of bright white water ice against the background of rusty red Martian soil. This third crater, 4 km in diameter, located in Mars’ north polar region of the Great Northern Plain, is partially filled with water ice, which is also present on its north-facing slopes, which receive less sunlight on average throughout the year. The dark rock visible on the rim of the crater gives it a somewhat scorched appearance and is likely composed of volcanic materials such as basalt.
The ExoMars 2016 mission is a unique joint international project of the Roscosmos State Corporation and the European Space Agency. The spacecraft consisted of the TGO orbital module and the EDM (Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module), named Schiaparelli in honor of the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. The Schiaparelli demonstrator failed to make a soft landing on Mars. At the same time, the TGO orbiter has been successfully operating in orbit around Mars for all these years, transmitting important scientific data obtained by Russian and European scientific equipment installed on board, and also relaying data from the Curiosity, Perseverance rovers and the InSight lander.
The TGO module is designed to study the biological and geological origins of significant gaseous traces in the Martian atmosphere and the distribution of water ice in the Martian soil. The orbital module receives data on seasonal changes in the composition and temperature of the atmosphere, necessary to create its detailed model, and performs highly detailed photography of relief elements. TGO searches for potential signs of life on Mars by analyzing biomarker gases in the Martian atmosphere (methane, ethane, ethylene and phosphine). The exobiological mission is one of the current paths to a better understanding of the Red Planet.