NASA Curiosity finds vast Mars honeycomb field
NASA's Curiosity rover captured a vast field of honeycomb-shaped cracks in Mars' Valle Grande, with each polygon measuring 4 to 8 centimeters across, the largest such field the rover has recorded. According to NASA/JPL, the pattern may point to ancient water activity in the regio
NASA's Curiosity rover has photographed a vast field of honeycomb-shaped polygon cracks spreading across a Martian valley called Valle Grande, with individual polygons measuring 4 to 8 centimeters across, the largest such field the rover has recorded to date. The pattern wraps around a nearby butte nicknamed Miraflores, which stands about 20 feet (6 meters) tall. Mission scientists believe shifting Martian temperatures may have pushed water through underground sediment layers to form the cracks, though the exact cause remains unconfirmed. The find supports the longstanding theory that lakes and streams once covered this Martian foothill billions of years ago. Source: NASA/JPL, Space.com.