NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree view of an expanse of terrain covered in surface features called polygons on June 19 and 20, 2026, the 4,930th and 4,931st Martian days or sols of the mission. The rover has found polygons several times in the past, but never so many in one place. In the center of this image, the surface is covered by shapes ranging in size from approximately 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) in diameter. The features also surround and envelop a sand-covered hill nicknamed “Miraflores,” seen on the far right of the image.

Figure A is a crop from the bottom center of the panorama that highlights the polygons and their honeycomb textures.

Polygonal textures can form from a variety of conditions, including surface desiccation (as in mud cracks), temperature cycles, compaction after burial, or shrinkage of sediment from water loss or mineral changes. Scientists are measuring the characteristics of these polygons to determine what process formed them.

This panorama was captured by Curiosity’s Mast Camera, or Mastcam, as the rover continued its climb up the foothills of Mount Sharp, a 5-kilometer-high mountain it has been climbing since 2014.

The panorama is made up of 340 individual images that were sent to Earth and stitched together. The color has been adjusted to match lighting conditions as the human eye would see them on Earth.

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL is leading the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam.

For more information about Curiosity, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity