Scientists Have No Explanation For This Mysterious Pit On Mars

A recent photograph of the surface of Mars has left everyone at NASA baffled. This photo, that shows the planet's surface covered in holes and a mysterious pit beside it. Dubbed as the 'Swiss Cheese Terrain', this part of the planet seems to be the area around melting carbon dioxide ice.

The photo was taken recently by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. In a statement that was posted on NASA's lunar orbiter update page, the organization was quoted saying, "There is also a deeper, circular formation that penetrates through the ice and dust. This might be an impact crater or it could be a collapse pit."

As of now, scientists have no explanation as to what could have created this bizarre Martian feature. Although, holes on Mars are not really uncommon. According to a report, "More than half a million meteorite impacts have left craters; collapsing lava tubes have created deep pits; ancient floods have gouged out giant chasms, and volcanic activity has melted ice to leave funnels,"

This newly discovered hole, however, is deeper than your average hole on the surface of Mars and has left scientists with no explanation to its formation as of now. For now, NASA has figured out that there is ice at the bottom of the hole by looking at the Sun's position in the sky.

The crater/hole is 50 centimeters per pixel, which estimates its actual size to be hundreds of meters in diameter. This huge size suggests either an implosion or an explosion of sorts, but there can be no certain explanation without further evidence.