Mars’s two moons are slowly disintegrating and the leftover debris could lead to rings around the planet. Scientists believe that the two moons, Phobos and Deimos, are slowly being chipped away as they are pulled closer to Mars. Images actually sent back in 2013 from Nasa’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) were found to show a cloud of high-altitude dust surrounding the planet.

GETTY Mars could be the new Saturn

GETTY Mars and its two small moons

The research, published in the journal Icarus by researchers from the Physical Research Laboratory in India, says that big particles hovering around the planet, while solar winds are dragging small particles away which could lead to Saturn-like rings. So far, the scientists predict that around 0.6 per cent of the dust is formed by the moons, but over the course of 20 to 70 million years that figure will rise significantly.

GETTY The rings could be just like Saturn's

The researchers add however that there is no definitive proof that there are moon particles in the cloud, but rather their research shows that it is possible. Laila Anderssen, a researcher from the University of Colorado Boulder who was part of the team, told New Scientist: “To really say anything definitive about the dust, you really need to have a dedicated dust detector.

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