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Badwater Crater

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Badwater Crater is an impact crater located in Hellas Planitia and is situated within the low lying Plain of Peneus Palus on the southern hemisphere of Mars. It contains the lowest currently[as of?] known point on the entire planet, with an elevation of approximately −8,200 metres (−26,900 ft)[2] at 32.79° S, 62.14° E.[1] Badwater has a diameter of approximately 33.14 kilometres (20.59 mi).[1]

Badwater Crater
Badwater Crater, HiRISE CTX Greyscale Image
PlanetMars
Coordinates32°47′S 62°08′E / 32.79°S 62.14°E / -32.79; 62.14[1]
QuadrangleHellas quadrangle (MC-28)
Diameter33.14 km (20.59 mi)[1]
Depth8,200 m (26,900 ft)[2]

Badwater is a particularly interesting geological feature on Mars, not only because of its depth but also because it may be one of the only places on the entire planet where seasonal flows[3][4] of possible liquid water[5] solutions of brine[6] can exist near or potentially on its surface without being immediately vaporised. This has been observed as various dark streaks of what seems to be some type of hydrated salts[7] discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the HiRISE camera on board the MRO from NASA[8][9]

This could be potentially explained by the warmer months of the year in Mars's orbit on its equatorial plane[10] being heated from the melting of the frozen carbon dioxide on its polar ice caps.[11] This allows the atmosphere to temporarily become thicker than its average 610 pascals (0.088 psi) to a much greater atmospheric pressure of 1,250 pascals (0.181 psi) due to the atmosphere of Mars stacking upon itself from the immense depth of the hellas impact basin.[12] This leads to an atmospheric pressure of approximately 1.5% that of the Earth.[13][14]

Name

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Badwater Crater is named after Badwater, California in Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. The name for the crater was officially adopted by the IAU on the 11 April 2015.[1][15]

The name for the crater was specifically chosen since Badwater basin is incredibly salty with liquid water being more of an undrinkable brine not great for consumption. The same natural occurrence happens on Mars as its only remaining water content in this crater is incredibly high in its salt content therefore the IAU accepted the name as it suits its particular similarities with the crater.[16][17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "MARS – Badwater". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS.
  2. ^ a b Coles, Kenneth S.; Tanaka, Kenneth L.; Christensen, Philip R. (2019). "Hellas (MC-28)". The Atlas of Mars: Mapping Its Geography and Geology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 222–227. doi:10.1017/9781139567428.033. ISBN 978-1-139-56742-8.
  3. ^ "The Case of the Missing Mars Water". science.nasa.gov. 5 January 2001. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ^ Choi, Charles Q. (22 June 2010). "Flashback: Water on Mars Announced 10 Years Ago". Space.com. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  5. ^ "NASA Finds Possible Signs of Flowing Water on Mars". Voice of America. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. ^ "NASA Mars Spacecraft Reveals a More Dynamic Red Planet". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (Press release). Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  7. ^ Ojha, Lujendra; Wilhelm, Mary Beth; Murchie, Scott L.; McEwen, Alfred S.; Wray, James J.; Hanley, Jennifer; Massé, Marion; Chojnacki, Matt (1 November 2015). "Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars". Nature Geoscience. 8 (11): 829–832. Bibcode:2015NatGe...8..829O. doi:10.1038/ngeo2546.
  8. ^ Housden, Jacqueline (4 August 2011). "Nasa Find Potential Signs Of Flowing Water On Mars". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  9. ^ David, Leonard (23 September 2015). "Mars' Mysterious Dark Streaks Spur Exploration Debate". Space.com. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  10. ^ Wilson, Jack T.; Eke, Vincent R.; Massey, Richard J.; Elphic, Richard C.; Feldman, William C.; Maurice, Sylvestre; Teodoro, Luis F. A. (January 2018). "Equatorial locations of water on Mars: Improved resolution maps based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data". Icarus. 299: 148–160. arXiv:1708.00518. Bibcode:2018Icar..299..148W. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.07.028.
  11. ^ Hess, S. L.; Henry, R. M.; Tillman, J. E. (1 June 1979). "The seasonal variation of atmospheric pressure on Mars as affected by the south polar cap". Journal of Geophysical Research. 84: 2923–2927. Bibcode:1979JGR....84.2923H. doi:10.1029/JB084iB06p02923. ISSN 0148-0227.
  12. ^ Willett, Nicole. "Extremophiles". Marspedia. Retrieved 5 July 2024.[user-generated source?]
  13. ^ Franz, Heather B.; Trainer, Melissa G.; Malespin, Charles A.; Mahaffy, Paul R.; Atreya, Sushil K.; Becker, Richard H.; Benna, Mehdi; Conrad, Pamela G.; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Freissinet, Caroline; Manning, Heidi L. K.; Prats, Benito D.; Raaen, Eric; Wong, Michael H. (1 April 2017). "Initial SAM calibration gas experiments on Mars: Quadrupole mass spectrometer results and implications". Planetary and Space Science. 138: 44–54. Bibcode:2017P&SS..138...44F. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2017.01.014. ISSN 0032-0633.
  14. ^ Haberle, R. M. (1 January 2015). "SOLAR SYSTEM/SUN, ATMOSPHERES, EVOLUTION OF ATMOSPHERES | Planetary Atmospheres: Mars". In North, Gerald R.; Pyle, John; Zhang, Fuqing (eds.). Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences (2nd ed.). Oxford: Academic Press. pp. 168–177. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-382225-3.00312-1. ISBN 978-0-12-382225-3. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Astrogeology". USGS. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  16. ^ Burnham, R. (17 April 2015). "Three newly named Mars features". Red Planet Report.
  17. ^ Bernhardt, H.; Reiss, D.; Hiesinger, H.; Ivanov, M. A. (April 2016). "The honeycomb terrain on the Hellas basin floor, Mars: A case for salt or ice diapirism". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 121 (4): 714–738. Bibcode:2016JGRE..121..714B. doi:10.1002/2016JE005007. ISSN 2169-9097.
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