NASA’s Curiosity rover has entered a Martian valley covered by an astonishing “sea” of tiny polygon-shaped fractures. The honeycomb patterns, each only a few inches wide, stretch across the landscape and even wrap around a nearby 20-foot-tall butte.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has entered a Martian valley covered by an astonishing “sea” of tiny polygon-shaped fractures. The honeycomb patterns, each only a few inches wide, stretch across the landscape and even wrap around a nearby 20-foot-tall butte.

  • tb_@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    1 hour ago

    That’s a conclusion the article doesn’t leap to:

    What Created the Honeycomb Patterns?

    Some polygonal formations previously examined by Curiosity clearly began as cracks in drying mud. However, several different processes can produce this kind of honeycomb appearance.

    Repeated warming and cooling can fracture the ground into geometric shapes. Compression may also create similar patterns by forcing water out of sediment after the material becomes buried beneath the surface.

    Scientists are now studying the newly discovered formations to determine which of these processes, or possibly a combination of them, shaped the landscape in Valle Grande.