Radar images reveal the mysterious polar ice caps on Mars, also suggesting that the Red Planet is already emerging out of an Ice Age, which is a natural part of a climate change cycle on the dusty planet, according to scientists.

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This Martian Ice Age officially ended some 370,000 years ago, as this new study shows the end of this ice retreat. Scientists have analyzed radar images taken by satellites that are orbiting Mars and estimated that there's already been 20,872 cubic miles of ice that have accumulated on its northern and southern poles, ever since the end of the ice age, where most of it are found on its north pole.

Scientists have been in the quest to find crucial clues and evidence regarding Martian climate history, which strongly suggests the presence of lakes and oceans that once existed on the surface, which can ultimately lead to signs of life.

According to lead author of the study, planetary scientist Isaac Smith from the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, new data obtained from ice measurements can now be applied to develop computer simulations to create a more accurate climate model of Mars.

Smith says that this study marks the first time to link a specific layer of Martian ice with a specific timeline, which would lead to better future observations and research that can be applied to every layer.

On average, Martian temperatures would certainly feel like an Ice Age, where NASA says that temperature ranges from 20 degrees Celsius at its hottest, which is high noon on regions near the equatorial belt and the lowest would plunge into negative 153 degrees Celsius near the polar regions.

Ice Age on Mars apparently occur when its poles become warmer than average where frozen water becomes more stable in lower latitudes. These new findings reveal these important transitions in Martian climate phases, that also produce distinct features on ice.

These features involve incredible sloping layers of ice that are observed to cascade across the northern ice cap of Mars. Some layers of ice reveal movement that appear to be in the reverse direction. These extreme climate cycles are also triggered by Mars' orbit and tilt, that affects how much sunlight hits the surface. Martian tilts are so extreme that it can change up to 60 degrees, whereas Earth's tilt only changes by about two degrees.

This new study is published in the journal Science. 

TagsMars, Ice age, martian poles, ice age on mars, NASA