Spider-shaped features carved by vaporizing dry ice
Spider-shaped features in the south polar region of Mars are carved by vaporizing dry ice in a dynamic seasonal process. This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter includes several of the distinctive features in an area 1.2 kilometers (three-fourths of a mile) wide. It is one of the HiRISE camera team’s featured images this week.
The features are cut into the ground, not built up above the surrounding surface. Sunlight is coming from the right, from about 15 degrees above the horizon. Scientists call these features “araneiform,” which means spider-like.