Looks like David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars may have not been too far off – at least planet-wise.

Here’s a newly issued image taken by NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor using its Mars Orbiter Camera operated by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS).

Taken during the southern summer season, the photo shows an area adjacent to the red planet’s south polar residual cap. Several intricate fracture networks are seen, each network involving multiple factures are radiating from a central spot.

Looking like a squad of marching Mars spiders, the origin of these features is not understood, note experts at MSSS.

Some investigators have speculated that these are sites of release of carbon dioxide from beneath the ground. But this explanation seems inadequate to explain all attributes of the features, according to MSSS researchers.

Also, Mars Global Surveyor flyovers of the area have shown that these features have not been changing from year to year during the course of the spacecraft’s mission.

Mars Global Surveyor was launched in November 1996 and has been in Mars orbit since September 1997.

-- Leonard David

Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems