NASA Study Finds Fine Martian Soil Drives 1-Kilometer Spider Formation
Updated
Updated · ZME Science · Aug 17
NASA Study Finds Fine Martian Soil Drives 1-Kilometer Spider Formation
2 articles · Updated · ZME Science · Aug 17
Summary
A 2026 NASA follow-up found finer simulated Martian soil let CO₂ penetrate deeper and wider, producing stronger, longer-lasting plumes and more cracked “spider” terrain than coarser material.
Lab tests showed the soil under seasonal CO₂ ice can determine whether araneiform features form at all, refining a 2024 experiment that tied the process to springtime sublimation beneath translucent ice.
Water ice in soil pores built a thicker CO₂ surface layer but sharply reduced sublimation, suggesting subsurface composition can either promote or suppress spider-forming activity.
Researchers still have not directly observed growth in mature Martian spiders, which can exceed 1 kilometer, raising the possibility they form too slowly today or preserve evidence of an earlier Martian climate.