Are there spiders on Mars? ESA reveals the truth behind mysterious clusters seen on the Red Planet
The European Space Age (ESA) recently shared pictures of the mysterious spider-like clusters on the planet Mars.
The space agency has, however, clarified that these spider like dark features
on the Red Planet form “when spring sunshine falls on layers of carbon dioxide deposited over the dark winter months."
Further explaining, ESA added, “The emerging gas, laden with dark dust, shoots up through cracks in the ice in the form of tall fountains or geysers,
before falling back down and settling on the surface. This creates dark spots of between 45 m and 1 km across.
This same process creates characteristic ‘spider-shaped’ patterns etched beneath the ice."
According to the ESA, these dark spots were observed by ESA's Mars Express on the outskirts of a region nicknamed as "Inca City" in the southern polar region of the red planet.
NASA's Mariner 9 probe discovered Inca City in 1972. Speaking on the formation of the city, ESA has stated that they are uncertain about the exact formation process of the city
but added several possibilities that it could be due to sand dunes
or materials such as magma or sand might be seeping through
fractured Martian rock with some possibilities associated with glaciers.