In a new study, researchers are suggesting something radical: that the Red Planet may be hosting life under its icy exterior. Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are positing that Mars' water ice deposits,

The ambitious exploration of Mars continues with every passing moment, and now experts have compiled a new study which states just how important dusty ice could be to indicating signs of life on the planet.

A dwarf planet near Mars could help astronomers in their search for alien life, as more research has been done into its abundance of organic matter. The planet, named Ceres, lies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Pockets of ice on Mars could shield living organisms from radiation that is lethal at the surface, while allowing through enough light to provide the energy to grow and reproduce, a team of planetary scientists claim.

While evidence for life on Mars has never been found, a new NASA study proposes that microbes could find a potential home beneath frozen water on the planet’s surface. Through computer modeling, the study’s authors have shown that the amount of sunlight that can shine through water ice would be enough for photosynthesis to occur in shallow pools of meltwater below the surface of that ice.