The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express probe has photographed strange “spiders” on the surface of Mars. Could it be proof that life exists outside Earth? In fact, a statement from the institution clarifies that the images show something else.
Dark formations
According to astronomers, These small, dark formations originate when spring sunlight falls on layers of carbon dioxide deposited in the soil of Mars during the winter months. Sunlight causes carbon dioxide ice at the bottom of the layer to turn into gas, which accumulates and breaks up overlapping ice sheets. The gas releases in the Martian spring, dragging dark material to the surface as it advances and breaking up layers of ice up to a meter thick.
This gas, laden with dark dust, is ejected through cracks in the ice in the form of fountains or geysers, before falling back and settling on the surface. This creates dark patches with diameters between 45m and 1km. O The same process creates characteristic “spider” patterns etched beneath the ice.
This is not the first time that strange figures have been spotted on Mars. Previously, people stated that they identified sarcophagi, buildings and a famous face on the Red Planet. Experts guarantee that there is a scientific explanation for these figures. The phenomenon of seeing familiar patterns where they don’t exist is called pareidolia. This is what happens when someone sees animal shapes in clouds, or identifies faces while looking at abstract patterns.
