NASA has revealed a closeup image of strange land formations on the Martian surface captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera.
The image shows deep troughs on the Red Planet's surface, which have formed a pattern that resembles a starburst. Scientists have since dubbed the formations as "spiders."
According to NASA, the MRO took the photograph of the spiders at 4:56 p.m. following local Martian time. The surface of the planet was visible courtesy of light from the sun, which was 12 degrees above Mars' horizon at the time.
Experts said the spiders are formed as the Red Planet goes into its version of the spring season, during which ice formed by carbon dioxide typically erodes to reveal beautiful Martian terrain.
"The troughs are believed to be formed by gas flowing beneath the seasonal ice to openings where the gas escapes, carrying along dust from the surface below," the American space agency said. "The dust falls to the surface of the ice in fan-shaped deposits."
Since arriving at the Martian system in 2006, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has provided NASA scientists with a more in-depth look at Mars' landscape, which is believed to have undergone several transformations over the past 3 billion years.
The MRO and its HiRISE camera continue to produce detailed maps of the Red Planet's surface.
French author and editor Xavier Barral has compiled 200 images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and included them in his book This is Mars, which is meant to be a visual atlas of the Martian environment.
Francis Rocard, head of the Solar System Exploration division at the CNES Space Observatory, said that Mars, along with Earth, has one of the richest and most diverse histories out of all the planets.
Taking high resolution photographs of the mineralogical and geological features of Mars requires having the MRO maintain a consistent point of view of the planet's surface. Each image covers a 6-kilometer (3.72-mile) wide strip.
Some of the Martian features captured by the MRO camera over the years include the defrosting of the crests of "Inca City," a name given by scientists of the Mariner 9 project in 1972 to a group of rectilinear ridges located in the planet's south polar region.
