“Martian ice exposures are probably one of the most accessible places we should be looking” for life on the red planet, according to the paper’s lead author, Aditya Khuller of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Aditya Khuller, a Research Fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, spilled the cosmic tea in an interview with Space.com. He explained how Mars is a bit of a rebel—unlike Earth, it doesn’t have a protective ozone layer,

The study, which is published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, focused on water ice formed from ancient snow mixed with dust during Martian ice ages. Researchers found that dark dust particles within the ice could absorb sunlight,

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.