This image shows an icy cloud forming above Mars' surface.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

At a Glance

Plunging nighttime temperatures on Mars can trigger violent snowstorms.These storms could threaten the success of future missions to Mars.Researchers also discovered an upward release of water vapor into Mars' clouds may be behind the planet's disappearance of water.

Mars is a frosty planet despite its fiery red-orange appearance, and plunging nighttime temperatures can cause weather much worse than researchers ever thought possible, according to a recent study.

By analyzing what happens to water in the Red Planet's clouds, a team of scientists discovered. These blizzardscould threaten the success of future missions to Mars.

"It's the first time anyone has shown that ," Aymeric Spiga, Pierre and Marie Curie University planetary scientist and the study's lead author, told New Scientist. "Any snow particles formed were thought to fall only very slowly through their own weight."

The scientists made their discovery by analyzing what happens to water in Mars’ clouds, states the study. They simulated large-scale global climates, calculated the turbulence of the air, and made localized weather predictions.

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Previously, when researchers used only the global climate model, they could predict where clouds may be but, Spiga explained to Nature.

"That's the reason why these snowstorms were not discovered before," he added.

During the day, the icy clouds that sit 6 to 12 miles above the Marssurface absorb light from the sun to help keep the atmosphere warm and stable, according to Nature. However, the researchers discovered that as the sun sets, the temperature insidethe clouds drops rapidly.

The cold, descending air mixes with hot air rising from the planet's surface to create strong plumes of rushing wind that bring snow-like ice particles. These snowstorms occur by about 2 a.m. Mars time.

In 2008, NASA’s Phoenix Lander spotted what appeared to be falling snow near theRed Planet's poles,Nature also reported. Scientists estimateit took four hours for the icy particles to descendup to a mile before evaporating into the atmosphere.

Spiga and his team discovered the tiny particles, which are roughly one-thousandth the size of a raindrop, take only 5 to 10 minutes to descend.

Propelled by the turbulent wind, the snow flurries could be violent, but Spiga says many are likely to dwindle away to nothing before reaching the ground, New Scientist reported. However, if a cloud is close enough to Mars' surface, the snow could last long enough to build up.

Though theMarswind speeds would be considered moderate on Earth, the Red Planet’s thinner atmosphere would amplify turbulence, according to Spiga. This could be problematic for a robotic rover or human crew trying to land on the surface.

"Any time NASA sends a new lander or rover to Mars, the landing of these spacecraft is always a very risky process," said Spiga. Understanding the atmosphere will help researchers eliminate surprises for future missions.

The researchers also found evidence of an upward release of water vapor into the clouds near the poles, according to Nature. They are uncertain whether the atmosphere's mixing pattern favors a movement of water higher into the Red Planet's atmosphere, where it could be lost to space, or a movement down towardthe surface.

University of Colorado Boulder planetary scientist Mike Chaffin told Nature that water being pushed higherinto the atmosphere could explain how Mars lost a lot of it."More and more, we're understanding that the Mars atmosphere is connected vertically in ways we didn't expect," said Chaffin.

Understanding the nature of the planet's weather could help the researchers understand how it lost most of its water and what may happen to the water that remains.