Milankovič (Martian crater)


Milankovič is a crater in the Diacria quadrangle of Mars, having a diameter of 118.4 km. It is located at 54.7° north latitude and 146.7° west longitude. The crater is easy to see on Mars photographs because it lies north of Olympus Mons and sits by itself in the flat plain of Vastitas Borealis.
It is named after Milutin Milanković, a Serbian geophysicist and astrophysicist.

Gallery

Exposed ice sheets

Many triangular shaped depressions are visible in Milankovič Crater. According to a team of researchers, these depression display water ice in the straight wall that faces the pole. Eight sites were found with Milankovic Crater being the only one in the northern hemisphere. This discovery is important because the ice lies under only a meter or two of cover. Research was conducted with instruments on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The following images are ones referred to in this study of subsurface ice sheets.

In culture

Milanković Crater is the setting of the short story King of Mars, part of the Mars Mars 2194 by Canadian author Jack Stornoway.

Interactive Mars map