At first look, an image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter seems to feature spider-like objects crawling over the surface of Mars. The image, which was clicked on 13 May 2018 and released on Friday, actually shows a unique phenomenon that has little to do with spiders.
The picture shows a carbon dioxide ice cap covering a region on the Red Planet and as the sun returns in the spring, the "spiders" appear to emerge from the landscape.
The phenomenon, which happens when CO2 below Mars’ surface warms in the spring and changes from solid to gas, leads to spider-like radiating mounds on the surface and is called "araneiform terrain".