NASA's Curiosity Rover Explores Martian 'Spiderwebs' Up Close

The rover has been studying a region on Mars filled with boxwork formations, suggesting ancient groundwater flowed on the Red Planet later than expected.

Published on Feb. 23, 2026

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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring a region on the Red Planet filled with geologic formations called boxwork, low ridges standing roughly 3 to 6 feet tall with sandy hollows in between. Crisscrossing the surface for miles, the formations suggest ancient groundwater flowed on this part of Mars later than scientists expected, raising new questions about how long microbial life could have survived on the planet billions of years ago.

Why it matters

The boxwork formations on Mars provide clues about the planet's ancient climate and the potential for past habitability. Understanding how these features formed could shed light on the history of water on Mars and the possibility of life.

The details

Curiosity has been studying the boxwork formations up close, finding that they were likely formed by minerals left behind as groundwater dried up on Mars billions of years ago. The rover has collected and analyzed rock samples from the ridges and hollows, finding clay and carbonate minerals that provide additional insights into the formation of these features.

  • Curiosity has been exploring the boxwork region for about six months.
  • The rover collected a fourth rock sample from the boxwork area in March 2026 for advanced chemical analysis.
  • Curiosity is expected to leave the boxwork formations behind and continue exploring the sulfate-rich layer of Mount Sharp in the coming year.

The players

Curiosity Mars Rover

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, a car-sized vehicle that has been exploring the Gale Crater region of Mars since 2012.

Ashley Stroupe

Operations systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which built Curiosity and leads the mission.

Tina Seeger

A mission scientist at Rice University leading the investigation of the boxwork formations on Mars.

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What they’re saying

“It almost feels like a highway we can drive on. But then we have to go down into the hollows, where you need to be mindful of Curiosity's wheels slipping or having trouble turning in the sand.”

— Ashley Stroupe, Operations systems engineer (NASA)

“Seeing boxwork this far up the mountain suggests the groundwater table had to be pretty high, and that means the water needed for sustaining life could have lasted much longer than we thought looking from orbit.”

— Tina Seeger, Mission scientist (NASA)

What’s next

Curiosity will continue exploring the sulfate-rich layer of Mount Sharp in the coming year, learning more about how the ancient Martian climate changed billions of years ago.

The takeaway

The discovery of extensive boxwork formations on Mars suggests that groundwater persisted on the planet for longer than previously thought, raising new possibilities about the potential for past microbial life to have thrived in the ancient Martian environment.