NASA shares aerial photos of Mars winter. What does Mars winter look like?

Science Fiction Network, December 29th

Recently, NASA used the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to take a number of stunning pictures of the red planet Mars in winter. The orbiter also captured the polygonal patterns formed by frosted craters and frozen soil on the surface of Mars. The frost formed on the surface of Mars in winter appears rainbow-colored in the light and emits a blue/blue-green hue.

The average temperature on the surface of Mars is -63°C. Due to the thin atmosphere of Mars, which can hardly retain heat, the temperature difference between day and night is large, ranging from tens of degrees to more than 100 degrees. In summer, the temperature at the equator of Mars can reach up to 35°C, but in winter, the temperature at the poles of Mars can drop to -130°C.

Mars also snows in winter, but the snow on Mars is different from that on Earth. There are two types of snow on Mars: water ice, carbon dioxide, or dry ice. Due to the thin air and cold temperature on Mars, water ice and snow sublimate before they touch the ground and turn into gas, while dry ice and snow reach the ground. Snow only appears at the coldest poles of Mars, where the temperature drops to -190℉ (-123℃). At the same time, the snow on Mars is extremely fine, even finer than a human hair.

In addition, the winter on Mars is a season when sandstorms are prone to break out, but since the atmospheric pressure on Mars is less than 1% of that on Earth, its storms can only blow up floating dust and are not as violent as sandstorms on Earth. (Editor: Qin Yingying)