New Discovery Reveals Bizarre Polygon Structures on Mars
By Jeffrey Rapaport | Published 5 mins ago
If you’re looking for inspiration for a sci-fi screenplay, pay attention: scientists have recently discovered bizarre polygon structures buried beneath the surface of Mars. Cutting-edge advancements in space tech facilitated the find, an extraordinary revelation from the cosmos.
The Chinese rover Zhurong made the discovery, which marks a significant milestone in China’s space exploration program. Indeed, Zhurong’s adventuring on Mars is part of the first Chinese mission to land on the Red Planet.
The Chinese rover was dropped off and deployed in Utopia Planitia, one of the Red Planet’s most significant impact basins. The impressive technology has been critical in revealing the mysterious, hidden structures in a particularly relevant section of the Martian landscape.
Zhurong delved beneath the surface of Mars to discover 16 fascinating polygonal structures. Experts consider these formations to be the incredibly old consequence of a freeze-thaw cycle. The Martian terrain cracked after having previously frozen, a process observed on Earth in areas of permafrost.
However, according to scientists, the polygons emerging from this process on the Red Planet are enormous–much bigger than those encountered on Earth.
Further research revealed fascinating details about Mars’ geological and climatic origins. Whereas volcanic activity shaped Earth’s polygonal structures, Martian polygons probably owe their extraordinary shapes to sedimentation and thermal processes, excluding the involvement of lava.
Moreover, traces of ancient Martian floods along the Utopia Planitia—flooding dating to nearly three billion years ago—attest to a dynamic and varied Martian landscape undergoing revolutionary changes. Such an environment would have transformed Mars from a water-rich planet to the arid wasteland we witness today.
While NASA’s Curiosity keeps on truckin,’ the Chinese Zhurong rover has since gone silent. This is presumably due to Mars’ harsh dust storms—although, of course, no one can rule out a sci-fi horror monster, either.
Further evidence also suggests Mars might have once also been subject to a much altered axial tilt or obliquity. Drastic changes in the planet’s tilt would have engendered extreme temperature fluctuations. Scientists propose the Red Plant tilted by up to forty degrees around five million years ago.
In any case, the discovery enriches our understanding of Mars’ geological history and presents new avenues for exploring the planet’s past climate and atmospheric conditions.