Korolev (Martian crater)

This article is about the crater on Mars. For the lunar crater, see Korolev (lunar crater).
Korolev
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Natural color view of Korolev crater from Mars Express
LocationMare Boreum quadrangle, Mars
Coordinates72°46′N 164°35′E / 72.77°N 164.58°E / 72.77; 164.58[1]
Diameter81.4 kilometres (50.6 mi)[1]
EponymSergei Korolev (1907-1966), Soviet rocket engineer and designer

Korolev is an ice-filled impact crater in the Mare Boreum quadrangle of Mars, located at 73° north latitude and 165° east longitude. It is 81.4 kilometres (50.6 mi) in diameter[1] and contains about 2,200 cubic kilometres (530 cu mi) of water ice, comparable in volume to Great Bear Lake in northern Canada.[2] The crater was named after Sergei Korolev (1907–1966), the head Soviet rocket engineer and designer during the Space Race in the 1950s and 1960s.[2]

Korolev crater is located on the Planum Boreum, the northern polar plain which surrounds the north polar ice cap, near the Olympia Undae dune field. The crater rim rises about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) above the surrounding plains. The crater floor lies about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) below the rim, and is covered by a 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) deep central mound of permanent water ice, up to 60 kilometres (37 mi) in diameter.[2]

  1. ^ a b c "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Korolev". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "A winter wonderland in red and white – Korolev Crater on Mars". German Aerospace Center (DLR). Retrieved 20 December 2018.