NASA scientists have finally found the answers of the mysterious spider-shaped features in the red planet Mars. In a recent statement released by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it explained the growth of the seemingly like spider feature, which is found only in the south polar region of Mars.
Images sent from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft were being studied specifically the growth of the spidery feature in the red planet's terrain, from one Martian spring to another. According to the space agency, the spiders range in size from tens of hundreds of yards, with multiple channels typically converging at a central pit that resembles the legs and body of a spider, News reported.
The source added that the red planet's south pole is where the spidery terrain is most prevalent. Spiders formed out from the carbon dioxide ice or dry ice, which occurs naturally at Mars' poles during winter. When Spring comes, sunshine warms the ground underneath the ice, causing some carbon dioxide to thaw into gas which bursts out of the ice and erodes the ground.
Ganna Protyankina of the University of Colorado, Boulder said in a statement that large spiders grow out from smaller features that survive and extend from year to year. Since most of these spiders are in sand-dune areas, it is unclear whether it will keep getting bigger or will disappear under moving sand, Protyankina added.
Newly reported troughs near the south pole have not only grown through three Mars years but have also formed branches as they extended, forming branching pattern that resembles the spidery terrain, JPL reported. The new information gathered by the spacecraft also enlightens how carbon dioxide shapes Mars in unearthly ways.
It is worth noting that MRO began orbiting Mars in 2006 and Jet Propulsion Laboratory is priding MRO's capability and features regarding its very high-resolution imaging and the mission's longevity that enables scientists to investigate active processes on Mars.
