NASA's Curiosity spots fish-scale patterns near Antofagasta crater on Mars

Technology Apr 24, 2026

NASA's Curiosity rover just spotted some wild, fish-scale-like patterns on the surface of Mars, right near the Antofagasta crater and in Mount Sharp terrain.
These honeycomb designs showed up in photos taken on April 7, 2026, and scientists say they cover a pretty big area in this dusty part of the planet.

NASA's Fraeman probes freeze-thaw, water clues

These patterns could be a big clue about what ancient Mars was like.
On Earth, similar shapes form when things freeze and thaw over time.
Abigail Fraeman and her team at NASA are digging into the images to figure out how these formed.
Plus, Curiosity has found other signs, like boxwork formations, that hint water once flowed here, backing up ideas that Mars might have been much wetter (and maybe more habitable) in Mars's ancient past.