The crater was named after Soviet scientist and spacecraft engineer Sergei Korolev, who designed the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7, and the first artificial satellite. Dubbed by many as the father of aeronautics, Korolev was also involved in launching the first human into space.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has invited everyone to take a tour of the Korolev Crater on Mars as it released breathtaking footage of the 82-kilometre-wide crater. The video, which was compiled from images taken by the ESA’s Mars Express space mission, is made in a way that gives you an impression that you are flying over the crater, which is located in in the northern lowlands of the red planet.
The crater is filled with water ice all year round as its floor lies two kilometres below its rim. Such a location makes the air above the ice cooler and heavier compared to the crater’s surroundings. Because air is a poor conductor of heat, the water ice mound is effectively shielded from heating.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
