Did you ever wonder what snow looks like on Mars? Thanks to a recent Mars photograph, we can see how ice and snow cover the ground in a beautiful but twisted winter wonderland.
Discover the full story below and learn more about snow on Mars!
Snow on Mars is Incredible, But There’s a Catch
Well, you might get that feeling of a “winter wonderland” on Mars, but there was actually spring there when the ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft of the European Space Agency captured the image on May 19. You can spot how ice starts to melt, which is pretty incredible!
And the phenomenon is quite impressive, too, because as the ice melts, some odd black dunes appear in various locations. Those dunes emerge as sharp peaks that run parallel to and in line with the contour of the underlying features. Check out the photo below:
The other dark spots that you can notice in the photo are actually dust and jets that erupt straight out of the icy surface when the underneath carbon dioxide ice turns into gas (also known as sublimation).
More curious is how the black dust that makes up those dunes comes from material formerly buried during volcanic eruptions on Mars. Scientists really hope to come across more data about that to solve some long-standing puzzles about our neighboring planet.
Luckily, we have enough instruments to scan and acquire more data. Keeping an eye on those features from orbit means that scientists can also observe the processes modifying the appearance of the polar regions and shaping the Martian surface.
As fascinating as ice and snow could be on the Red Planet and the ‘winter wonderland’ feeling that we might get, it is, in fact, spring, not winter. Of course, things are different on Mars, but seeing something similar to our planet is incredible!