Instead of frosty flutes and sparkling champagne to welcome in the New Year, why not consider erupting geysers and icy avalanches? That’s precisely what you can anticipate as the Martian New Year kicks off on the Red Planet with the arrival of spring in its Northern Hemisphere.
The expression “strolling in a winter wonderland” on Mars resembles more to racing across the terrain, needing to evade collapsing cliffs and bursts of carbon dioxide. In contrast to our northern hemisphere on Earth, the New Year on the Red Planet initiates with the onset of the spring season. The Martian New Year commenced on Nov. 12, 2024, lasting for 687 Earth days, as temperatures begin to rise and a significant change in season occurs from winter to spring.
“Spring on Earth features a lot of melting as water ice gradually transforms. However, on Mars, everything transpires with an explosion,” said Serina Diniega, a researcher focused on planetary surfaces at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, in a statement. “Rather than melting, you witness numerous cracks and detonations, and I assume it becomes quite noisy.”
The atmosphere on Mars exhibits remarkable differences when compared to Earth. For instance, as ice thaws, the liquid does not pool on the surface; rather, a process called sublimation occurs, transitioning solid ice directly into vapor. This sudden transformation can be extremely disruptive, as both dry ice (which is carbon dioxide) and regular ice (consisting of water) become significantly weaker and begin to fracture.
Since we cannot observe this directly on Mars, scientists depend on NASA’s Mars ReconnaissanceOrbiter (MRO) to be their observers for tracking these transformations. The Crimson Planet has been a residence for MRO since its initiation in 2005, and it possesses various instruments that deliver visuals and insights from the terrain.
“Serendipitous observations we obtain remind us of just how distinct Mars is from Earth, particularly in the spring, when these surface alterations are most evident,” stated Diniega. “We are fortunate to have a spacecraft like MRO monitoring Mars for such an extended period. Observing for nearly two decades has enabled us to witness significant events like avalanches.”
Examine some of the various occurrences scientists have identified or managed to replicate from data during the Martian spring, owing to devices like MRO’s High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera.
Frost avalanches
As temperatures initiate their seasonal rise, pieces of frost made of carbon dioxide begin to disintegrate and plummet to the ground. This phenomenon was captured by HiRISE in 2015, depicting a 66-foot-wide (20-meter-wide) fragment breaking away and being photographed mid-air as it descended.
Gas geysers
Envision geysers in Yellowstone erupting water into the atmosphere, however, on Mars, they eject dark debris from beneath the surface propelled by gas bursts. As the sun converts the ice into gas underground, the pressure builds up to such an extent that it eventually launches dark materials into the atmosphere, creating dark fans on the Martian landscape.
Surface “Dirt” Spiders
It may not be as frightening as it sounds, but from a distance, it certainly might appear that way! Utilizing modeling at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), scientists managed to simulate what the terrain would appear like after sublimation occurs with the ice near some northern geysers – resembling giant spider legs!
Wild Winds
Did you know that there is an ice cap at Mars’ north pole in springtime that is as vast as Texas? As warm, vigorous winds sweep through the area, profound channels are etched out as the ice melts. Consequently, a swirling design forms across the ice cap from an aerial perspective, illustrated here by NASA’s decommissioned Mars Global Surveyor.
Drifting Dunes
Another remarkable scene to witness during the spring on Mars is the alteration of its sand dunes by the same warm and vigorous winds that influence the north pole. The Martian dunes are formed and shift as the sand accumulates on one side while being displaced from the opposite by the wind.
In winter, carbon dioxide frost settles over the summits of the sand dunes, freezes, and keeps them in position until the spring thaw permits them to move once more.