NASA’s Curiosity rover has made an astounding discovery by uncovering the largest patch of polygon-shaped ground fractures ever observed on Mars. This groundbreaking find may shed light on the planet’s ancient watery history.
The polygon fractures discovered by Curiosity in Gale crater, Mars. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.
This fascinating terrain is located in a valley known as Valle Grande on the lower slopes of Mount Sharp within Gale crater, where the Curiosity rover has been meticulously climbing since its arrival.
A stunning 360-degree panorama captured on June 19 and 20, 2026, showcases the honeycomb-like polygons extending endlessly towards the horizon.
Each fracture spans approximately 4 to 8 cm (1.5-3 inches) in width, with the pattern even ascending the sides of a nearby sand-capped butte nicknamed Miraflores, which rises about 6 m (20 feet) above the surrounding landscape.
While Curiosity has previously photographed smaller clusters of these geometric patterns, this discovery stands out due to its unprecedented scale.
“We’ve seen a multitude of remarkable landscapes through Curiosity’s eyes, but this vast expanse of polygons truly took our breath away,” said Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a member of the Curiosity team.
“We’re meticulously measuring their shapes and chemistry, hoping to find clues in the data about how these features formed.”
According to the research team, not all Martian polygon formations share the same origin.
Some patterns previously studied by Curiosity were formed by drying mud, while others arose from repeated freeze-thaw cycles or through compression that forces water out of below-surface sediments.
The researchers have yet to establish which mechanism — or combination of mechanisms — resulted in the newly discovered polygonal field.
“Billions of years ago, lakes and streams adorned the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a towering 5-km (3-mile) mountain that Curiosity has been exploring since 2014,” they noted.
“The rover has previously revealed chemistry linked to Mars’ ancient aqueous history, including carbon-based molecules believed to be precursors to RNA and DNA, the vital nucleic acids that carry genetic information.”
“We cannot determine whether these organic molecules were generated through biological or geological processes — both pathways are plausible — but their discovery reaffirms that ancient Mars once possessed the essential chemistry to support life.”
Source: www.sci.news
