While looking at data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), researchers from the SETI Institute and the Mars Institute discovered layered deposits on the surface of Mars, consisting of light sulfate salts. Their structure has cracks and moraine bands, suggesting the presence of a glacier here in recent times.
Seti.org is the image source for this image.
Scientists describe the object as being near the Martian equator at 7° 33′ S, 93° 14′ W. According to scientists, it is 6 km long, 4 km wide, and 1.7 km thick. Salt deposits are thought to have formed on the surface of the glacier that once existed here.
If the scientists' assumptions are correct, Mars' ice may appear later than previously assumed, which will have implications for our general understanding of the planet's habitability and future missions. These deposits formed a hard layer as further erosion should have exposed them. The cracks with moraines that appeared here clearly indicate a water glacier that once existed.
Scientists assumed that the signs of "young" glaciers were found only in higher latitudes. This ice may be used in future investigations because to the less harsh environment on Earth.
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