At NASA presented a series of photographs with winter landscapes of Mars. The selection was made on the eve of the Christmas holidays, but how different are these images from earthly winter landscapes! Martian colonists will miss the snowy plains and snowdrifts of the Earth. On Mars, none of this will happen.
Image Source: NASA
Most of the snow is located closer to the poles of Mars. During the coldest months, and winters on Mars are almost twice as long as on Earth, temperatures there drop to -123°C or so. Under such conditions, water ice or snow does not form on the surface in the highly rarefied atmosphere of the Red Planet. Snowdrifts are swept from particles of dry ice (from atmospheric CO2). Their height is hardly capable of exceeding one meter.
Water ice is hidden under the surface of Mars. In Martian winter, it can be seen on the slopes of craters and following landslides. For example, in craters following meteorite impacts. Theoretically, on such slopes it would be possible to ski even on the snow from the water, but in practice, the water evaporates very quickly in the dry atmosphere of Mars. Unless in the winter months it is able to lie longer on the slopes in the shade.
The snowflakes falling on Mars are also not similar to those on Earth. They do not have six arms, and the peculiarities of the molecular structure of carbon dioxide give them a cubic shape. In addition, “snow” falling from the sky is also a rarity. This requires heavy cloud cover (absence of the Sun) and very low temperatures. For the spectacle of snowfalls, you will have to go to the poles of Mars.
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