Mars may have had ICE AGES similar to Earth

Mars may have had ICE AGES similar to Earth: Nasa radar data show signs the red planet is emerging from a deep freeze. Swathes of water ice may have once advanced and retreated across the Martian surface, according to new analysis of surface data at the planet’s poles.


ICE AGES similar to Earth

According to researchers at Southwest Research Institute, the findings indicate the ice ages were driven by forces similar to those on Earth, hinting that the two planets evolved along a similar route.

Planetary scientists believe that radar data collected by Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show signs of an ice age at the polar regions, and that the Mars may beat the tail end of an ice age.

‘We found an accelerated accumulation rate of ice in the uppermost 100 to 300 meters of the polar cap,’ said Dr Isaac Smith, a researcher at SwRI and lead author of a paper.

Dr Smith added: ‘The volume and thickness of ice matches model predictions from the early 2000s. Radar observations of the ice cap provide a detailed history of ice accumulation and erosion associated with climate change.’


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