Inside the regular $n$ -gon $M$ with side $a$ there are $n$ equal circles so that each touches two adjacent sides of the polygon $M$ and two other circles. Inside the formed "star", which is bounded by arcs, these $n$ equal circles are reconstructed so that each touches the two adjacent circles built in the previous step, and two more newly built circles. This process will take $k$ steps. Find the area $S_n (k)$ of the "star", which is formed in the center of the polygon $M$. Consider the spatial analogue of this problem.
Problem
Source: III All-Ukrainian Tournament of Young Mathematicians, Qualifying p13
Tags: geometry, tangent circles, regular polygon, Ukrainian TYM