Freeze over (eventually) Because Mars is further from the sun, the solar radiation flux is less, about half of what it is on Earth. Typical temperatures at the equator are the same as the average temperatures in Antarctica.
The only reason it has small ice caps is because it has hardly any ice. If it had similar amounts of water to Earth, it would be an ice world, covered in ice all the way to the equator.
That is - unless the water was very salty. Mix it with the right mix of chlorates, perchlorates and sulfates on Mars, in huge quantities, and it could be liquid at very low temperatures (like filling the ocean with antifreeze).
The only reason it has small ice caps is because it has hardly any ice. If it had similar amounts of water to Earth, it would be an ice world, covered in ice all the way to the equator.
That is - unless the water was very salty. Mix it with the right mix of chlorates, perchlorates and sulfates on Mars, in huge quantities, and it could be liquid at very low temperatures (like filling the ocean with antifreeze).
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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