The soil surface on Mars is believed to contain water ice, especially at higher latitudes. Similar to permafrost regions on Earth, this permanently frozen water remains geologically active.

With the changing seasons, alternate cooling and warming causes the ice-cemented soil to contract and expand. Under favorable conditions these forces generate cracks into the hard frozen ground releasing the stresses caused by contraction. Over years of cyclic cracking, a curious honeycomb-like polygonal pattern arises.

The presence of these widespread patterns on Mars present valuable clues as to the occurrence or absence of ice in the subsurface. This image shows a textbook example of regular, nearly hexagonal polygon networks. The geometry of the polygons reveals hints of how long the ice has been there and how deeply buried it may be.

ID: ESP_066782_1110
date: 25 October 2020
altitude: 248 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_066782_1110
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA