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BREAKTHROUGH NEWS:Water ice has officially been found on Mars!This image, taken by ESA’s Mars Express, shows the Korolev Crater, an 82-kilometer-wide feature in the northern lowlands of Mars. It looks like a snowy field, but it’s actually filled with ice.The crater contains a massive central mound of ice, up to 1.8 kilometers thick, which stays frozen all year thanks to a special “cold trap” effect. The crater’s floor, which is 2 kilometers deep, cools the air just above the ice. This cold air forms a stable layer that stops warmer air from melting the ice. Since air is a poor conductor of heat, it helps keep the ice frozen.These stunning images were captured by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), marking 15 years since the spacecraft entered Mars’ orbit on December 25, 2003.Korolev Crater is named after Sergei Korolev, a key figure in Soviet space exploration, known for leading the Sputnik and Vostok programs and early interplanetary missions.Other missions, like ESA’s ExoMars program, are also exploring this area to look for signs of past life. In 2018, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captured a clear view of the crater’s northern rim, highlighting its incredible icy surface.