The Chonkerton

NASA’s Curiosity Discovers a Field of Martian Polygons

science

NASA's Curiosity rover discovered an unusually dense field of polygons across the Martian surface, blanketing terrain with thousands of tiny geometric shapes. The features, ranging from two to four inches in diameter, display a honeycomb-like pattern and are the most densely concentrated group the rover has encountered during its twelve-year mission. Scientists are analyzing the polygons to determine whether they formed through drying sediment, temperature fluctuations, or mineral changes. Per NASA News, the panoramic image — stitched from three hundred forty images — captured the field as Curiosity continued climbing Mount Sharp, a three-mile-tall mountain the rover has been ascending since twenty fourteen.

Source: https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/nasas-curiosity-dis...

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton