Unexpected water frost found on Mars' tallest volcano peaks

Scientists surprised the scientific community by discovering unexpected frost traces on Mars's peaks, especially at its highest points—the volcanoes of the Tharsis region reports IFL Science. Interestingly, this frost is not frozen carbon dioxide, commonly found on the Red Planet, but actual water frost. Experts from the University of Bern and Brown University believe the discovery sheds new light on our understanding of the Red Planet.

Experts observed frost for the first time at the Martian equator. They were assisted by instruments from the European Space Agency (ESA)—the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which has been operating on Mars since 2016, and the Mars Express mission, which has been studying the planet from orbit since 2003. The discovery was quite surprising, as scientists did not expect ice deposits to form in such a thin atmosphere as Mars's, especially under conditions prevailing in the planet's equatorial regions.

The frost was noticed in the Tharsis region, the largest volcanic region on Mars. This area is home to 12 large volcanoes, including the famous Olympus Mons. Olympus Mons is 31 kilometres high and considered the tallest volcano on the Red Planet and has the highest peak in the Solar System. The Space.com service points out that it is 2.5 times higher than the highest peak on Earth, Mount Everest.

As the source of this surprising condensation, scientists point to the unique microclimate of volcanic calderas and processes that are not yet fully understood. They believe that a critical factor enabling the appearance of icy deposits is the movement of more humid air from lower parts of the atmosphere towards the peaks, where it condenses. Nicolas Thomas, co-author of the research, notes the similarity of this phenomenon to processes occurring on Earth and other regions of Mars, where these phenomena lead to the seasonal formation of Martian clouds.

"We thought it was impossible for frost to form around Mars' equator, as the mix of sunshine and thin atmosphere keeps temperatures relatively high at both surface and mountaintop – unlike what we see on Earth, where you might expect to see frosty peaks" emphasized Adomas Valantinas, who also participated in the research, in a press statement.

This unprecedented observation expands our knowledge of Mars and opens new perspectives for future research missions and humans' potential colonization of the Red Planet. The discovery, published in Nature Geoscience, was made possible by specific observational orbits and the insight of scientists who unexpectedly came across ice traces while conducting other research. New data on the presence of water on Mars are a step forward in our quest to understand this mysterious world.