NASA finally has an explanation for the mysterious 'spiders' on Mars

When you think of spiders on Mars, you probably think of David Bowie's famous 1970s band, although “Spiders from Mars“But that has nothing to do with it. The phenomenon of “Araneiforms”. What to do on the red planet. Spider-like formations on the surface of Mars were not discovered until 2003.

The unusual cavities can only be found at the south pole of Mars. Like branches, they extend from a central point. It has long been a mystery what causes these Martianspider webs arise

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Theoretical and practical

Theoretically, formations can be formed using Kiefer model It can be explained. However, it has not yet been possible to have such a structure in one plant To recreate it and thus finally prove the theory in question.

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The evidence has been submitted.

And now the evidence has finally been presented, like NASA. writes in broadcastFor the first time it was possible… Origin of Aranea shapes On Earth, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This means that Kiefer's model can now be confirmed.

Kieffer's theory states that spider patterns are created when Ice It changes directly to the gaseous state, and is called sublimation. Therefore, it freezes. carbon dioxide from Atmosphere in Martian winter And it settles on the surface.

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Gas escapes and breaks the ice.

The carbon dioxide is then trapped between several layers of ice. When the weather warms up again in the spring, the carbon dioxide becomes solid. Directly to gaseous state Up. The pressure increases, and the ice breaks.

This is how types are created. valvethrough which the gas escapes – in this case the spider's “body”. The dark shadows around the formation show through it. Martian dust respectively Martian sandwhich rotates due to the escape of gas.

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at -185 degrees

The additional gas flow towards the valve creates channels on the surface – spider legsAs the ice melts and temperatures continue to rise, the aranii shape remains visible to the Mars rover's cameras.

In order to be able to simulate the conditions on Mars, a test chamber was built in the JPL laboratory. In it, the temperature was determined using liquid nitrogen on -185°C Refrigerated. After many attempts to carefully coordinate all the necessary requirements, it is now possible to create Martian spiders in the laboratory.

The corresponding study was published in the specialized journal “Journal of Planetary Science“Published.