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B.M. Lobitz (California State University, Monterey Bay), C.P. McKay, M.M. Averner (NASA Ames Research Center)
Russell Crater (54.5S, 12.5E) is a 200-km crater in the southern highlands of Mars. While the carter rim is about 1.5 km in elevation, the crater surface is at 0 km elevation and hence the pressure there is above the triple point of liquid water (0.61 kPa). Using MOLA high resolution data and the Viking lander surface pressure measurements we have computed the expected pressure in craters in the southern hemisphere through the martian year. We have coupled this with direct measurements of temperature from TES to determine possible sites for liquid water in crater bottoms. We compare the distribution of sites for liquid water stability with the distribution of gullies. MOC or THEMIS images of these crater bottoms potentially can reveal surface morphology that confirm the presence of liquid water in these craters.
This work was supported in part by NASA's Fundamental Space Biology Program.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35 #4
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.