Mars it is a planet under the magnifying glass to understand if there has been, is and could be life. A new discovery moves in this direction “spider” explosions. The satellite images leave no doubt: they show hundreds of ‘insects’ moving on the red surface.
Their identification was enabled by the Trace Gas Orbiter probe of the ExoMars mission, launched in 2016 by ESA, the European Space Agency, and the Russian Roscosmos. They are found in the so-called Inca cityso called because it recalls the ruins of an ancient settlement of one of the main pre-Columbian civilizations.
Spider-shaped explosions on Mars
The territory under examination, which also sends alien messages, appears as a result of explosions that can measure up to a kilometer in diameter, which they fracture the frozen ground when the milder seasons arrive. The inclination of Mars’ axis, in fact, is very similar to that of our planet and allows the alternation of periods with different climatic temperatures, reminiscent of those that outline the Earth’s seasons but with notable differences.
Martian winter comes to -120°C and also freezes carbon dioxide deposits found on the surface. This is how a layer of dry ice is formed, which melts – or, rather, sublimates – with the arrival of what we would call spring: then it passes directly from the solid to the gaseous state.
This creates considerable pressure within the deposits which, in turn, creates an explosion, of sorts boil that forms cracks and the release of dark dust. This explains the spider-shaped spots that have intrigued astronomers working on the red planet. The paws are nothing more than the lines formed by superficial fractures. Gas channels with diameters varying between 45 meters and one kilometre. Strange things happen on Mars, but this one seems to have a logical explanation.
Why there is an “Inca city” on Mars
Inca City it is located in the south polar zone of Mars. Also known as Angustus Labyrinthus, it was discovered in 1972 by NASA’s Mariner 9 probe and owes its name to the formations that resemble the Inca ruins on Earth. It is located at 81.68° S and 63.25° W.
The landscape looked like sand dunes that had been formed by winds blowing from two different directions, but they were too large to be sand dunes. In 2002 the Mars Orbiter revealed that, instead, a circular area about 86 kilometers wide, probably a ancient impact crater. The geometric ridges could be the result of an intrusion of magma, passed through the cracked Martian crust following the impact of an asteroid which damaged the surface. The most resistant parts remained standing, while the softer ones were eroded. Exactly what happens to the ruins of ancient civilizations occurred.
There are still no certain theories on the formation of Inca City, it is hypothesized that there may have been a petrification of sand dunes or a filtration of material through fractured rock layers. Alternatively, it could be the formation of eskerglacier-related structures that outline the walls of this city on Mars.
