NASA HiRISE Camera Photographs Unusual Polygonal Structures on Mars
Image Credit:petapixel
Unusual polygonal structures, mostly made of dry ice and water at high latitudes, were captured by the NASA HiRISE camera on Mars. Why use polygons?
Image Credit:dailysabah
The ground is split into this shape by water ice that has frozen in the soil, and the channels defining the polygonal boundaries have been eroded by dry ice
that will sublimate in the spring, giving them further twists and turns.
Image Credit:astreologysciencecenter
The layer of translucent dry ice coating the surface produces vents to let gas escape
Image Credit:cnn
This spring activity is captured by NASA's High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) sensor
Image Credit:nasamarsexplorationprogram
The channels are further eroded as a result of the gas carrying away tiny material particles from the surface
Image Credit:firstpost
The Grand Canyon of Mars, Valles Marineris, was also photographed by HiRISE.