Mechanical Engineering, Department of

 

Title

The State and Future of Mars Polar Science and Exploration

Authors

Stephen M. Clifford, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX
David Crisp, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
David A. Fisher, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa
Ken E. Herkenhoff, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ
Suzanne E. Smrekar, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Peter C. Thomas, Cornell University
David D. Wynn-Williams, Natural Environmental Research Council, Cambridge, UK
Richard W. Zurek, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Jeffrey R. Barnes, Oregon State University
Bruce G. Bills, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Erik W. Blake, Icefield Instruments Inc., Whitehorse, Canada
Wendy M. Calvin, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ
Jonathan M. Cameron, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Michael H. Carr, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
Philip R. Christensen, Arizona State University
Benton C. Clark, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, CO
Gary D. Clow, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado, CO
James A. Cutts, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Niels Bohr Institut for Astronomi, Fysik og Geofysik, Copenhagen
William B. Durham, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Fraser P. Fanale, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Honolulu
Jack D. Farmer, Arizona State University
Francois Forget, Université de Paris
Kumiko Gotto-Azuma, Nagaoka Institute of Snow and Ice Studies, Japan
Rejean Grard, European Space Agency
Robert M. Haberle, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
William Harrison, University of Alaska—Fairbanks
Ralph Harvey, Case Western Reserve University
Alan D. Howard, University of Virginia
Andy P. Ingersoll, California Institute of Technology
Philip B. James, University of Toledo
Jeffrey S. Kargel, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ
Hugh H. Kieffer, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ
Janus Larsen, Niels Bohr Institut for Astronomi, Fysik og Geofysik, Copenhagen
Kenneth Lepper, Oklahoma State University
Michael C. Malin, Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., San Diego, CA
Daniel J. McCleese, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Bruce Murray, California Institute of Technology
John F. Nye, University of Bristol, UK
David A. Paige, University of California at Los Angeles
Stephen R. Platte, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Jef f J. Plaut, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Niels Reeh, Technical University of Denmark
James W. Rice, University of Arizona
David E. Smith, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Carol R. Stoker, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Kenneth L. Tanaka, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ
Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Ohio State University
Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson, Alfred Wegener Institüt für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
Stephen E. Wood, University of Washington, Seattle
Aaron Zent, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Maria T. Zuber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
H. Jay Zwally, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2000

Comments

Published in Icarus 144:2 (April 2000), pp. 210-242.

Abstract

As the planet's principal cold traps, the martian polar regions have accumulated extensive mantles of ice and dust that cover individual areas of ~106 km2 and total as much as 3-4 km thick. From the scarcity of superposed craters on their surface, these layered deposits are thought to be comparatively young-preserving a record of the seasonal and climatic cycling of atmospheric CO2, H2O, and dust over the past ~105-108 years. For this reason, the martian polar deposits may serve as a Rosetta Stone for understanding the geologic and climatic history of the planet - documenting variations in insolation (due to quasiperiodic oscillations in the planet's obliquity and orbital elements), volatile mass balance, atmospheric composition, dust storm activity, volcanic eruptions, large impacts, catastrophic floods, solar luminosity, supernovae, and perhaps even a record of microbial life. Beyond their scientific value, the polar regions may soon prove important for another reason-providing a valuable and accessible reservoir of water to support the long-term human exploration of Mars. In this paper we assess the current state of Mars polar research, identify the key questions that motivate the exploration of the polar regions, discuss the extent to which current missions will address these questions, and speculate about what additional capabilities and investigations may be required to address the issues that remain outstanding.