NASA explores a winter wonderland on Mars

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26-12-2022, 20:46

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INA – SOURCES

Winter came to Mars and the surface transformed into a truly otherworldly holiday scene. Snow, ice, and frost accompany the season's sub-zero temperatures. Some of the coldest of these occur at the planet's poles, where it gets as low as minus 190 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 123 degrees Celsius).

No region of Mars got more than a few feet of snow, most of which falls over extremely flat areas. And, the Red Planet's elliptical orbit means it takes many more months for winter to come around: a single Mars year is around two Earth years.

Still, the planet offers unique winter phenomena that scientists have been able to study, thanks to NASA's robotic Mars explorers.