{"id":1575,"date":"2026-02-26T07:32:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=1575"},"modified":"2026-02-26T07:32:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:32:58","slug":"curiosity-closes-in-on-mars-giant-web-like-ridges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=1575","title":{"rendered":"Curiosity Closes In on Mars&#8217; Giant Web-Like Ridges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-236204\">\n<p>\t<!-- .post-header --><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content description cf entry-content content-spacious\">\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/25215923\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork.jpg\" alt=\"NASA Curiosity Rover Mars Spiderweb Boxwork\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\"\/><br \/>One of Mars\u2019 most perplexing geological mysteries, formations that like enormous spiderwebs spread out across the landscape, can now be seen up close in the most recent set of photos taken by NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover. It has been traveling through an interesting section of Mount Sharp inside Gale Crater for the past six months. It\u2019s made up of low, intersecting ridges that are about three to six feet high, with sandy depressions scooped out between them.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-236204\"\/><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/25215918\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-1.jpg\" alt=\"NASA Curiosity Rover Mars Spiderweb Boxwork\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\"\/><br \/>When viewed from orbit, the pattern gives the distinct appearance of enormous spiderwebs spanning miles across the Martian landscape, but up close, the story becomes much more intriguing. These \u201cboxwork\u201d structures show a history of water that has persisted for much longer than most models had predicted. Using its Mastcam, the rover was able to take some incredibly vivid panoramas and close-ups of the ridges. One picture dated September 26, 2025, provides an incredibly clear view of the network of elevated lines and depressions. The team was rather taken aback when Curiosity discovered pea-sized nodules scattered throughout the ridge walls and in the hollows, which are evidence of previous water activity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"aawp\">\n<div class=\"aawp-product aawp-product--horizontal\" data-aawp-product-asin=\"B0BSRD2CXY\" data-aawp-product-id=\"222381\" data-aawp-tracking-id=\"tec02e-20\" data-aawp-product-title=\"LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover Perseverance Building Toys - STEM Model Kit for Boys &amp; Girls Ages 10+ Years - Gifts for Birthdays - Detailed Set for Display - 42158\">\n<div class=\"aawp-product__thumb\">\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aawp-product__image\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51QAPQzx3kL._SL160_.jpg\" alt=\"LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover Perseverance Building Toys - STEM Model Kit for Boys &amp; Girls, Ages 10+ Years...\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"aawp-product__content\">\n<p>            LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover Perseverance Building Toys &#8211; STEM Model Kit for Boys &amp; Girls, Ages 10+ Years&#8230;        <\/p>\n<div class=\"aawp-product__description\">\n<ul>\n<li>Feed a passion for science and technology \u2013 Kids can learn more about the challenges of space exploration with this LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Conduct a test flight \u2013 This advanced building kit for kids ages 10 and up includes a buildable toy version of NASA\u2019s Ingenuity helicopter, which&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>AR brings the mission to life \u2013 The accompanying augmented reality app experience lets kids dive into the details of the rover and its mission<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/25220328\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-2.jpg\" alt=\"NASA Curiosity Rover Mars Spiderweb Boxwork\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\"\/><br \/>\nThe experts believe that this explains the boxwork: long ago, groundwater passed through bedrock fissures, depositing minerals that created strong ridges in particular regions. The depressions that give the appearance of a web were left behind as the wind worked on the softer rock. The black lines that crisscrossed the formations were already very obvious from orbital photographs; a theory from back in 2014 proposed that these were central cracks where the minerals had congregated. That theory is strengthened by Curiosity\u2019s careful examination, which revealed that the lines are in fact fractures.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/25220334\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-3.jpg\" alt=\"NASA Curiosity Rover Mars Spiderweb Boxwork\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\"\/><br \/>The thing that truly grabs your attention is that the boxwork is located quite high on Mount Sharp, indicating that the ancient groundwater table must have reached fairly high levels. This implies that water was present on Mars for a far longer period of time before the planet dried up and froze. Microbial life would have had a longer period of livable conditions if it had ever existed. The investigation\u2019s mission scientist, Dr. Tina Seeger of Rice University, cited this elevation and said that groundwater high enough to create these characteristics indicates that life-supporting conditions may have existed for a much longer than the orbital data alone would indicate.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .post-content --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-box\">\n<div class=\"image\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3bdefee1518cfd8cae23d5f54c6867c0e89d466c01b67a0f6b4fb43536234f8?s=82&amp;r=g\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3bdefee1518cfd8cae23d5f54c6867c0e89d466c01b67a0f6b4fb43536234f8?s=164&amp;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-82 photo\" height=\"82\" width=\"82\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"content\">\n<p>\t\t\t<span class=\"author\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span>Author<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tJackson Chung\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text author-bio\">A technology, gadget and video game enthusiast that loves covering the latest industry news. Favorite trade show? Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-nav\">\n<div class=\"post previous cf\">\n<p>\t\t\t<i class=\"fa fa-angle-left\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"content\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"230\" height=\"230\" src=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/25175147\/camera-noise-true-number-generator-230x230.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Camera Noise True Number Generator\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/25175147\/camera-noise-true-number-generator-230x230.jpg 230w, https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/25175147\/camera-noise-true-number-generator-370x370.jpg 370w, https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/25175147\/camera-noise-true-number-generator-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\"\/>\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> Curiosity Closes In on Mars&#8217; Giant Web-Like Ridges<br \/>\n<br \/>#Curiosity #Closes #Mars #Giant #WebLike #Ridges<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of Mars\u2019 most perplexing geological mysteries, formations that like enormous spiderwebs spread out across&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[352,351,354,353,356,355],"class_list":["post-1575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech","tag-closes","tag-curiosity","tag-giant","tag-mars","tag-ridges","tag-weblike"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork.jpg",1280,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-768x512.jpg",640,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-1024x682.jpg",640,426,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork.jpg",1280,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork.jpg",1280,853,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-1024x682.jpg",1024,682,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spiderweb-boxwork-540x340.jpg",540,340,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/news678.top\/?cat=8\" rel=\"category\">Tech<\/a>","tag_info":"Tech","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}