Public domain
Rectangles with Wiggly Sides
From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Ground that has a lot of water ice mixed with dirt tends to crack in polygonal patterns bounded by short straight channels. In the South Polar region of Mars this type of terrain may be covered by a seasonal polar cap composed of dry ice. In the spring as the seasonal cap sublimates gas is trapped underneath the seasonal ice layer until it can escape to an opening. At this site, faint rectangular channels in the surface are visible.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionCredit lineRectangles with Wiggly Sides. NASA/JPL, 2017-01-27. Public domain. ID: PIA11238.
