Cold, barren, and desolate. All these and more can be applied to the surface of Ilum.
The Western Ice Shelf is one of the few regions on Ilum that has anything more than listening posts. It is currently summer, which means a day cycle of almost forty hours, followed by twenty-six hours of night. Even during these long days, the temperature tends to hover right around freezing; it is only during the solstice that it definitely rises above.
Rather than unending plains of snow and ice, the surface is covered with jagged canyons, caves, and mountains, both stone and ice. Navigational markers aid in travel between the few points of interest, but drivers are still advised to be cautious.
Ilum is often described as lifeless, but it is more accurate to say that it is devoid of all intelligent native life. Ilum is home to a small number of native plants and animals. Most notable of these is the Asharl panther, a large, cat-like ambush predator. But such wildlife is rarely seen; it is normal for travelers to go hundreds of kilometers without seeing any other living beings.