Thanks to some clever innovation, and one determined Italian astronaut currently stationed aboard the International Space Station, espresso and aroma of dark-roasted coffee beans has finally reached outer space. But what about the far off planet of Mars? Though the planet may be desolate, and according to current reports, completely absent of life, a new image released by the European Space Agency (ESA) looks like the red planet may have a place for caffè.
Staring down at the southern polar icecap of Mars in 2012, the Mars Express Orbiter with the European Space Agency captured a glimpse of frozen swirls in Martian ice. And when the scene was reprocessed by Bill Dunford of the "Riding with Robots" foundation, making it available for viewing on the internet, the immediate assumption was that the photo was of frothy foam and of swirling coffee in a cosmic cappuccino. But as it turns out, the strange swirls hide far more than meets the eye.
While the south pole of Mars may be 150 kilometers away from the planet's geographical pole, the mispositioned region is home to a beautiful swirling icecap, permanent year-round on the red planet. And it's the freezing temperatures and strong winds on the planet Mars that help make the permafrost picture such a beautiful sight year-round.
While water ice may create the peaks of white, frigid temperatures allow swirls of frozen carbon dioxide and red regolith to give the icecap its distinct cappuccino appearance. And though the photo may appear flowingly smooth from orbit, researchers with the ESA say that the icy tundra is in fact made of treacherous terrain, varying between high peaks and steep troughs.
"[Deep impact craters] funnel the strong winds that blow across Mars towards its southern pole, creating a mix of different low- and high-pressure systems" researchers with the ESA say. " The carbon dioxide in the polar cap sublimates at different rates in these regions with contrasting pressure, resulting in the cap's lopsided structure."
While the sight may be a cool place for selfies, or for a thematic space-themed café, researchers with the space agency are eager to one day reach the ice caps for a far different reason. The permafrost layer of Mars' southern ice cap is not only an amazing tourist sight, but it's also a timeless record of the planet's climate history. With the red planet's past locking into the layers of frozen ice, the southern icecap will undoubtedly serve one day to help researchers reveal the planet's climate past, and the habitability it may have once had.
