Mars used to have cyclical climate changes, likely driven by small variations in the planet's orbit, similar to the way orbital changes cause certain shifts in the Earth's climate, a new study shows.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed rock outcroppings that revealed a record of cyclical climate fluctuations within many stony layers on the planet, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) said Thursday.

"This study gives us a hint of how the ancient climate of Mars operated, and shows a much more predictable and regular environment than you would guess from other geological features that indicate catastrophic floods, volcanic eruptions and impact events," said Caltech graduate student Kevin Lewis, a leading researcher on the project.

As the tilt of the Earth's axis varies between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees over a 41,000-year period -- tilting the poles closer or farther away from the sun -- the poles experience varying amounts of glaciation, according to the study.

The tilt of Mars' axis changes by tens of degrees over a 100,000-year period, resulting in a more dramatic variation, said the study.