Viking 2 lander view of ice in the form of morning frosts in Utopia Planitia (false color)
Feature type
Impact basin
Location
Northeast of Isidis Planitia, northwest of Aetheria
Coordinates
46°42′N117°30′E / 46.7°N 117.5°E / 46.7; 117.5
Diameter
3,300 km (2,100 mi).[1]
Utopia Planitia (Greek and Latin: "Utopia Land Plain") is a large plain[2] within Utopia, the largest recognized impact basin on Mars[a] and in the Solar System with an estimated diameter of 3,300 km (2,100 mi).[1] It is the Martian region where the Viking 2 lander touched down and began exploring on September 3, 1976, and the Zhurong rover touched down on May 14, 2021, as a part of the Tianwen-1 mission.[4][5] It is located at the antipode of Argyre Planitia, centered at 46°42′N117°30′E / 46.7°N 117.5°E / 46.7; 117.5.[2] It is also in the Casius quadrangle, Amenthes quadrangle, and the Cebrenia quadrangle of Mars.
Many rocks at Utopia Planitia appear perched, as if wind removed much of the soil at their bases.[6][7] A hard surface crust is formed by solutions of minerals moving up through soil and evaporating at the surface.[8] Some areas of the surface exhibit scalloped topography, a surface that looks like it was carved out by an ice cream scoop. This surface is thought to have formed by the degradation of an ice-rich permafrost.[9] Many features that look like pingos on the Earth are found in Utopia Planitia (~35–50° N; ~80–115° E).[10]
On November 22, 2016, NASA reported finding a large amount of underground ice in the Utopia Planitia region. The volume of water detected has been estimated to be equivalent to the volume of water in Lake Superior.[11][12][13]
^ abMcGill, G. E. (1989-03-10). "Buried topography of Utopia, Mars: Persistence of a giant impact depression". Journal of Geophysical Research. 94: 2753–2759. Bibcode:1989JGR....94.2753M. doi:10.1029/JB094iB03p02753.
^"Utopia". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Science Center.
^"China succeeds on country's first Mars landing attempt with Tianwen-1". nasaspaceglight.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
^"China's first Mars rover Tianwen-1 launches this week. Here's what it will do". Space.com.
^Mutch, T. et al. 1976. "The Surface of Mars: The View from the Viking 2 Lander". Science: 194. 1277–1283.
^Hartmann, W. 2003. A Traveler's Guide to Mars. Workman Publishing. New York.
^Arvidson, R. A. Binder, and K. Jones. 1976. "The Surface of Mars". Scientific American: 238. 76–89.
^Sejourne, A. et al. 2012. Evidence of an eolian ice-rich and stratified permafrost in Utopia Planitia, Mars. Icarus. 60:248–254.
^Soare, E., et al. 2019.
Possible (closed system) pingo and ice-wedge/thermokarst complexes at the mid latitudes of Utopia Planitia, Mars. Icarus. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.010
^Staff (November 22, 2016). "Scalloped Terrain Led to Finding of Buried Ice on Mars". NASA. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
^"Lake of frozen water the size of New Mexico found on Mars – NASA". The Register. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
^"Mars Ice Deposit Holds as Much Water as Lake Superior". NASA. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
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UtopiaPlanitia (Greek and Latin: "Utopia Land Plain") is a large plain within Utopia, the largest recognized impact basin on Mars and in the Solar System...
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