Overview
- NASA’s Curiosity captured a stitched Mastcam panorama showing an extensive field of polygonal fractures in Valle Grande, imaged on June 19–20, 2026.
- The polygons form a continuous carpet of honeycomb textures with individual cells about 4 to 10 centimeters across and they wrap around a sand‑capped butte nicknamed Miraflores.
- The panorama is a mosaic of 340 Mastcam images that together show the largest concentration of these features Curiosity has seen in one place.
- Mission scientists have measured the shapes and chemistry of the polygons but have not reached a definitive origin; possible formation processes include dried mud cracks, temperature cycling, or compaction that squeezed water from buried sediment.
- The finding adds to Curiosity’s record of evidence for past water and organic chemistry on Mount Sharp and could help scientists refine models of ancient wet‑dry cycles and Mars’ past habitability as analysis continues.