These mounds of ice exist at much lower latitudes than any ice previously found on the red planet.

“Altogether, these glaciers almost certainly represent the largest reservoir of water ice on Mars that’s not in the polar caps,” said John Holt of the University of Texas at Austin and the main author of the study. “Just one of the features we examined is three times larger than the city of Los Angeles and up to one-half-mile thick, and there are many more.”

Water on Mars: great. Possible water source for future human settlements: fantastic. Alien locations for off-world snowboard festivals: why not?

But what I really want to know is: Does Mars have a Santa Claus? More importantly, will he fight for us or against us?

(via msnbc)