title: The state and future of Mars polar science and exploration.
abstract: As the planet's principal cold traps, the martian polar regions have accumulated extensive mantles of ice and dust that cover individual areas of approximately 10(6) km2 and total as much as 3-4 km thick. From the scarcity of superposed craters on their surface, these layered deposits are thought to be comparatively young--preserving a record of the seasonal and climatic cycling of atmospheric CO2, H2O, and dust over the past approximately 10(5)-10(8) years. For this reason, the martian polar deposits may serve as a Rosetta Stone for understanding the geologic and climatic history of the planet--documenting variations in insolation (due to quasiperiodic oscillations in the planet's obliquity and orbital elements), volatile mass balance, atmospheric composition, dust storm activity, volcanic eruptions, large impacts, catastrophic floods, solar luminosity, supernovae, and perhaps even a record of microbial life. Beyond their scientific value, the polar regions may soon prove important for another reason--providing a valuable and accessible reservoir of water to support the long-term human exploration of Mars. In this paper we assess the current state of Mars polar research, identify the key questions that motivate the exploration of the polar regions, discuss the extent to which current missions will address these questions, and speculate about what additional capabilities and investigations may be required to address the issues that remain outstanding.
authors.affiliation: Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas 77058, USA. clifford@lpl.jsc.nasa.gov
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Clifford
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crisp
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Herkenhoff
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Smrekar
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Wynn-Williams
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Zurek
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Bills
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Blake
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Calvin
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Clow
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cutts
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dahl-Jensen
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.forename: F P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Fanale
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Farmer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Forget
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gotto-Azuma
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zwally
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere / Q000032:analysis; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002980:Climate; D003081:Cold Climate; D018559:Exobiology; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D007053:Ice / Q000032:analysis; D018535:Mars; D013026:Space Flight / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D002245:Carbon Dioxide