A Mars orbiter has spotted what appears to be a swarm of spiders crawling across the Red planet's surface
Image: science.nasa.gov
These "spiders" were recently captured on camera by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft near a surface formation known as the Inca City
Image: esa.int
But these aren't actually spiders. They are small dark features that form on Mars' surface as a result of gas busting through a layer of carbon dioxide ice
Image: jpl.nasa.gov
These features begin to be formed when sunshine falls on carbon dioxide deposited during the planet's winter months
Image: x/@HiRISE
The light causes the carbon dioxide ice at the bottom of the deposits to turn into gas, which eventually bursts through the ice
Image: uahirise.org
As the gas explodes outward, it brings with it dark materials from the ground, which are scattered around the starburst shape of the cracked ice
Image: uahirise.org
These spots might look tiny from space, but they're actually fairly large. The patches are as small as 145 feet, at their largest, and might be over half a mile wide, per ESA
Image: nasa.gov
Another Mars orbiter, ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, also captured the “Spider” phenomenon even more clearly in 2020
Image: esa.int
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter also captured images in 2018 showing the "spiders" beginning to emerge from the landscape
Image: science.nasa.gov
Mars is currently experiencing spring-like weather, according to NASA