Climatic conditions on Mars are unpredictable. Previously, scientists know this red planet has an ice-covered surface in the north polar region. And now, they've just revealed Mars has a snowstorm at a certain moment.
This nighttime snow storm occurs due to particles - like ash and other chemicals - mixed with planetary air.
The mixture of these particles produces dust similar to snow and settles on the surface of the planet.
"We have to investigate further about the impact of what happens due to the natural cycle of this 'snow' dust," said Aymeric Spiga, a NASA scientist who also published a study entitled "Nature's Geoscience".
The ice layer in the north polar region of Mars itself is easy to melt. Based on the observation ESA (European Space Agency), the polar ice cap on Mars actually consists of water and ice dry (frozen carbon dioxide) which was also derived from the snow storm.
In the winter of Mars, the temperature drops drastically which triggers 30 percent of the carbon dioxide to dry, resulting in frozen ice.
While in summer, most of this dry ice becomes an evaporating atmosphere in the form of gases and leaves only a layer of ice containing water.
In addition to the ice area, NASA and ESA also observed the canyon area of Mars, namely Chasma Boreale. The distance is 500 kilometers long and an area of 2 kilometers from the north polar ice.
According to reports, Chasma Boreale ravine is now getting steeper and deeper. This is caused by the accumulation of ice and dust to form around the side of the canyon. The depth of this Mars canyon is reported to reach 2 kilometers.
