Mars is losing what little water it has to space during intense periods of stormy and hot weather.
Scientists analysing data compiled by the European ExoMars mission believe harsh sunlight breaks the water down into its basic components.
As the Mars water breaks down, individual atoms of hydrogen and oxygen are free to vent out into space.
Charged with energy from the Sun, the atoms can break free of Mars’ weak gravity and paper-thin atmosphere.
The process has been known to occur on Mars for many years now.
But researchers at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) have discovered it is happening much faster than thought before.
The startling discovery was published in the journal Science.
The data was collected by the Trace Gas Orbiter space probe that has been orbiting Mars since 2016.
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