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They have told us about Martian ice caps, carbon dioxide snow, inner geology, tenuous atmosphere and wind-eroded surface.

As an alternative, Mr. Shockey has pioneered a technique in which tiny microcrystals of dry ice or carbon dioxide “snow” are jetted over the surface to pick up dust and other contaminants.

But no one was quite sure how it got there until 2012, when researchers sifting through old Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data discovered carbon dioxide snow clouds hovering over the Red Planet.

Scientists have simulated Martian carbon dioxide snow flakes and found that they have a “cubohedral shape,” which basically means they look like tiny cubes with the corners cut off.

Dr Pike explained that temperatures had plummeted as low as minus 120C during the winter - cold enough to form a carbon dioxide snow.