Utopia Planitia
Impact basin on Mars / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Utopia Planitia (Greek and Latin: "Utopia Land Plain") is a large plain[2] within Utopia, the largest recognized impact basin on Mars[lower-alpha 1] 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 46.7°N 117.5°E / 46.7; 117.5.[2] It is also in the Casius quadrangle, Amenthes quadrangle, and the Cebrenia quadrangle of Mars.
Feature type | Impact basin |
---|---|
Location | Northeast of Isidis Planitia, northwest of Aetheria |
Coordinates | 46.7°N 117.5°E / 46.7; 117.5 |
Diameter | 3,300 km (2,100 mi).[1] |
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]