Pingo SubTerranean Aquifer Reconnaissance and Reconstruction (Pingo STARR)

Funding Program: NASA Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research
Start Date: 1 July, 2020
End Date: 30 June 2024

Collaborating Institutions: University of Alaska Anchorage, Cornell University (lead), Planetary Science Institute

Mars, Ceres, and the Earth have abundant reserves of ground ice. On Earth, ice-cored mounds known as pingos are important indicators of extant and extinct near-surface groundwater systems, hydrologic properties, and local climate. Spacecraft observations of Mars and Ceres have revealed a variety of deca- to kilometer scale hills with morphological similarities to terrestrial pingos in ice-rich environments. Pingo STARR will advance human and lander scale geophysical techniques specifically tailored to detect, characterize, and investigate the cryohydrology and genesis of possible pingo-like features on Earth, Mars, and Ceres. This systems-level field campaign will be the most comprehensive to date for any terrestrial pingos, and the first dedicated analysis of pingos from a planetary science perspective. Our science and technology objectives will provide valuable insight into detecting and characterizing ground-ice and -water systems on Mars and Ceres.