ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Martian chaos terrain

Okay, so imagine you're on a big playground, like the one at school. Now, pretend that instead of being on Earth, you're on a different planet called Mars. Mars is kind of like a really big, dry desert and it's even colder than your freezer at home!

Now, on Mars, there are some really weird and crazy parts of the planet that scientists call "chaos terrain." Don't worry, it's not dangerous or scary like it sounds, it's just a part of the planet that looks very different from everything else.

Chaos terrain is made up of rocks and dirt that have been all mixed up like a giant jigsaw puzzle. It's like someone took a giant bulldozer and just kind of threw everything around. This makes it look really bumpy and rough, like someone crumpled up a sheet of paper and then straightened it out.

Scientists have been studying chaos terrain on Mars to try and figure out how it got that way. Some think that when the planet was younger, there might have been big ice sheets or even underground water that caused the land to move around and create this crazy terrain. Others think that it might have been caused by big meteor crashes or even volcanoes.

So basically, chaos terrain is just a really weird and bumpy part of Mars that looks like a big mess. But don't worry, it's still a really cool place to explore and learn about!