Korolev (Martian crater)
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 and contains about 2,200 cubic kilometres (530 cu mi) of water ice, comparable in volume to Great Bear Lake in northern Canada. 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.
Perspective view of Korolev crater, generated using images and digital terrain data from Mars Express. | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 72.77°N 164.58°E |
| Quadrangle | Mare Boreum |
| Diameter | 81.4 kilometres (50.6 mi) |
| Eponym | Sergei Korolev (1907-1966), Soviet rocket engineer and designer |
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.