What are frozen volatiles?

Frozen volatiles are materials that can change from solid to gas, just like ice turning into steam when you heat it up.

Imagine you have a bag of snowflakes, these are like frozen volatiles. When the sun comes out and warms them, they don’t melt into water; instead, they turn directly into invisible vapor that floats away. That’s what happens with frozen volatiles in places like space or on icy moons.

Think of your favorite popsicle on a hot day. If it's really cold and you leave it out, it starts to melt, but if it’s super cold and the air is thin (like up high in the mountains), it might skip the liquid stage and turn straight into gas. That’s sublimation, and that’s what frozen volatiles do.

Some frozen volatiles are like the dry ice you see at parties. When you put it on a plate, it doesn’t just melt, it makes smoke! That’s because it turns from solid straight into gas. So, frozen volatiles are like magic snowflakes that skip the water stage and go straight to vapor when they get warm.