Periyar River To Varkala Beach: Martian Landforms Named After Iconic Sites In Kerala

Several iconic places from Kerala now have a second home on Mars. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) on Nov. 24 announced that several geological features on the Red Planet will now carry Indian names.

Among the newly named Martian sites are Kerala's largest river, Periyar, its largest fort, Bekal and the popular Varkala beach. The newly approved names by IAU also include two towns linked to ISRO, Thumba and Valiamala.

The list also honours M S Krishnan, the first Indian to become the director of the Geological Survey of India in 1951. An over three-billion-year-old and 77-km wide crater on Mars has been named Krishnan. Nearby, a 50 km-wide plain will be called Krishnan Planum, the IAU announced.

In total, seven Indian names feature in the latest Martian nomenclature, a move that reflects India’s growing footprint in the space sector.

Based on the naming rules followed by the international organisation, large craters, 50 km or more, are named after scientists. Smaller craters take names from towns and villages with populations under 1,00,000. 

"This category is simply a large source of crater names. No commemoration of specific towns or villages is intended," the rules say.

Over 2,000 geological features on Mars have been named so far, according to the US Geological Survey’s Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Around 50 of these carry Indian references, including names of towns and villages.

The IAU invites global submissions for naming stars, planets, or planetary features through a “Call for Proposals.” Under this system, applicants must provide the proposed name, its origin, and a description of the feature, along with a brief scientific explanation. 

Submissions also require annotated and unannotated images, the feature type, coordinates in the correct system and its size, if known. This ensures names are scientifically accurate and globally recognised.

Sometimes, proposed names are first submitted to country-specific groups before reaching the IAU. Proposals are also sent directly for consideration. The final decision is made by senior IAU officials after committee deliberations. For the latest Martian craters, scientists at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) submitted the names based on their ongoing research.