150,000 Tonnes of Water Frost Found on Mars' Tallest Volcano
In a groundbreaking discovery that challenges our understanding of Mars' climate, scientists have found water frost on the towering Tharsis volcanoes near the Red Planet's equator. This unexpected find, detected by the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), marks the first time frost has been observed in a region previously considered too warm for such formations. The frost was initially spotted atop Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, which stands nearly three times the height of Mount Everest. Further observations by TGO's NOMAD instrument and the Mars Express orbiter confirmed the presence of frost on multiple volcanoes in the Tharsis region. Adomas Valantinas of Brown University, the lead researcher who made the initial discovery, expressed surprise at finding frost in this area, given the mix of sunshine and thin atmosphere that usually keeps temperatures relatively high. Despite its incredibly thin layer - about one-hu...
