Planet Mars continues to show natural processes that make it quite similar to planet Earth. However, the Red Planet seemed also to be copying negative traits that are happening now on Planet Earth, and one of these is the continuous melting of ice blocks surrounding the planet.
Planet Mars is slowly melting ice blocks and its alarming
On Friday, Jan. 31, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft has released images of what they described as "collapsing ice blocks" surrounding the planet.
The MRO HiRise camera team at the University of Arizona that controls the images explained that their spacecraft captured the before and after pictures of Planet Mars, showing it's north polar collapsing and experiencing a radical change.
The team put together the collected images and created a GIF image to showcase how the change continues to affect the planet.
"This animation shows where a section of the slope at right has collapsed since three Mars-years ago and deposited a field of ice blocks," wrote planetary geologist Alfred McEwen for a HiRise image release on Friday.
The researchers stated that the pictures were taken on three Mars years-- which equivalent to 687 Earth days per year-- while the second picture was just taken on Dec. 25, 2019.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft has been in residence to planet Mars starting in 2006. The equipment that they use for the camera images of the planet were also recognized as one of Science's most valuable technology due to its ability to show how planet Mars can be compared to Earth in a lot of similar traits.
According to the MRO HiRise team, the spacecraft is at exactly 318.6 km or 198.0 miles.
Mars heating up do not have any connection with global climate changes, experts say
In 2018, NASA already explained that any unusual ice cap melting on Planet Mars does not have any contact with what's happening on Earth-like climate change. And that any ice melting on Mars does not have any effect as the planet will just continue to accumulate dry ice.
"In contrast to shrinking ice caps on Earth, climate change is not to blame on Mars," explained NASA. "This mesa in this cutout is shrinking over time as the frozen carbon dioxide turns to vapor. Pits in this sheet of dry ice (that give the deposit an appearance resembling Swiss cheese) are enlarging over time, exposing an older surface below that is likely made up of water ice."
Mars experience avalanche
Another proof that Mars has a similar trait with Earth was when researchers found out that the planet experienced a massive avalanche of ice in Sept. 2019.
As explained by the experts, the avalanche is just a normal process that Mars experiences as "the warmth [from the avalanche] destabilize the ice and blocks break loose."
