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Washington: The upper atmosphere of Mars contains up to a hundred times more water vapour than anyone had ever imagined, according to a new study. 

It seems that previous models have greatly underestimated the quantities of water vapour at heights of 20–50 km. 

This surprising discovery has major implications for understanding the Martian water cycle and the historical evolution of the atmosphere, researchers say. 

Using data from the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, astronomers determined that water in the upper Martian atmosphere undergoes a process known as supersaturation — something astronomers thought could not occur on the dry, dusty planet. 

Under normal conditions on Earth, water vapour condenses around tiny dust or aerosol particles or salts when the atmospheric temperature drops below a certain “dew point”.