Introduction to the 4th Mars Polar Science and Exploration Conference special issue: Five top questions in Mars polar science

As an introduction to this Icarus special issue for the 4th Mars Polar Science and Exploration Conference, we discuss five key questions in Mars polar science, gleaned from plenary discussions and presentations held at the conference. These questions highlight major unknowns in the field. (1) What are the physical characteristics of the polar layered deposits (PLD), and how are the different geologic units within, beneath, and surrounding the PLD related? (2) How old are the PLD? And what are their glacial, fluvial, depositional and erosional histories? (3) What are the mass and energy budgets of the PLD, and what processes control these budgets on seasonal and longer timescales? (4) What chronology, compositional variability, and record of climatic change is expressed in the stratigraphy of the PLD? (5) How have volatiles and dust been exchanged between polar and non-polar reservoirs? And how has this exchange affected the past and present distribution of surface and subsurface ice?