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will embark on a lengthy journey to the foothills of Mount Sharp, where rising from the landscape is a sprawling, miles-long formation of spiderweb-like patterns, the likes of which has never been witnessed at such a scale on Earth.
boxwork — the intricate pattern of winding ridges is believed to have been formed by minerals deposited by groundwater billions of years ago, potentially offering clues about whether microbial life could have once existed on ancient Mars.using its HiRise camera in 2006. If all goes to plan in the coming months, the Curiosity rover will give scientists their first ever up-close look at the webby protrusions.Lying in the shadow of Mount Sharp — officially Aeolis Mons — a three mile tall mountain in the center of Mars' Gale Crater, the boxwork stretches for an incredible six to twelve miles in length, and owes its striking appearance not only to the prominence of its protrusions, but to the dark sand that fills its interstices. Boxwork formations exist on Earth, but are typically found on cliffsides and in caves, according to the space agency. And none on our planet can claim to be nearly as large as the Martian ones. The understanding is that they formed from the last vestiges of groundwater that flowed down from Mount Sharp, carrying minerals that hardened into fractures in surface rock. Over billions of years, the rock eroded away, revealing the minerals that once sought refuge in its nooks and crannies, that today stand on their own.If Mars was ever capable of supporting life, evidence of its habitability may be preserved in the boxwork. "These ridges will include minerals that crystallized underground, where it would have been warmer, with salty liquid water flowing through," Kirsten Siebach, a planetary scientist from Rice University on the Curiosity team who is studying the Mars region, . "Early Earth microbes could have survived in a similar environment. That makes this an exciting place to explore."
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