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As one of Earth ’s closest neighbour in space , Marshas long captivated humans with the candidate of alien life located just a short rocket head trip off . No such life has been discover . But now , asNASAand other space bureau have commence to explore the sky and surface of the Red Planet using machinelike engineering science , images of strange features and formations continue to inflame skywatchers ' Bob Hope , fears and curiosities .
Here are some of our favorite object on Mars that look like they do n’t go on a dead and cold major planet . Many of these are a resolution ofpareidolia — the inclination for humans to seek intimate pattern and shapes in inanimate object . However , some of them may even conduce scientists to the long - look for evidence of retiring Martian living .
Is that really a floating spoon on Mars or just a strange rock?
An open “travel book”
Perhaps weary from hunting for evidence of ancient pee , NASA ’s Curiosity rover took a short disruption in April 2023 to riff through the page of an former Martian hardcover dwell in the dust of Gediz Vallis . While the strange object may count like a book with a single page freeze mid - turn , it is in fact just a rock’n’roll — and a modest one at that . The charming little book - rock music beat just 1 in ( 2.5 centimeters ) wide , according to NASA . Hey , at least it ’s traveling - size of it !
Related : ' spider on Mars ' fully awakened on Earth for 1st sentence — and scientists are shrieking with joy
A “teddy bear’s face”
In an prototype shared in January 2023 by the University of Arizona ( UA ) , what is likely the face of an tremendous Martian teddy bear — complete with two beady eyes , a button nose and an upturned mouth — grins at the photographic camera of NASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter . According to UA , the cuddly - wuddly constitution is likely just a part - up hill in the shopping centre of an ancient volcanic crater . But as far as we ’re concerned , it ’s the cutest pile of rubble in the known macrocosm .
Frozen “mineral flowers”
Branching outwards like a diminutive precious coral , this fragile mineral flower is about the close affair to greenery one can ascertain on the Red Planet today . Mineral deposits like these are rough-cut sights across Mars and leave from ancient urine coalesce with ancient rock . Still , it ’s rarified to see a deposition that ’s so dead flower - like , NASA researchers said . You ’ll notice two slightly less impressive , circular rock’n’roll of the same type to the right of the coral . Curiosity spotted this flowered feature in February 2022 .
A mysterious “doorway”
Is thisperfectly hewn " doorway"into a Martian cliffside grounds of intelligent alien life on the Red Planet — or perhaps signs of a secret social club of human astronauts camped out in clandestine Mars dugout ? Sadly ( for conspiracy theoretician ) , the truth is far simpler : It ’s just an eroded rock formation caught at the perfect angle . The persona was capture by NASA ’s Curiosity scouter in 2022 .
Fossilized “animal tracks”
Did alien tool once skitter across the aerofoil of Mars , bequeath fossilized tracks embedded in the rock music ? One researchermade this controversial claimin 2018 , pointing to figure of speech of joystick - corresponding structure , each about the size of a grain of rice , crisscross a Martian rock . NASA researchers quickly debunk the title , note that similar features are ample on Earth in areas where salts become concentrated in H2O , such as evaporating lakes . Their presence on Mars is yet more evidence of preceding rivers and lakes on the Red Planet , but they offer no cogent evidence that living animate being ever adorned its aerofoil .
A bushel of “blueberries”
Blueberries are not a pregnant source of smoothing iron when take on Earth — but these geologic " blueberry " discovered by NASA ’s chance wanderer on Mars in 2004 are built otherwise . The Fe - rich area , refined smooth by rich amounts of water billions of years ago , are some of the earliest evidence scientists have of Mars once being an incredibly wet human beings . Whether they also taste secure on cheesecake is a question for future generation to grapple with .
Thousands of black “spiders on Mars”
Every spring , thousands of squiggly contraband " spiders"emerge from their hibernation near the Martian south pole . No , they are not tangible spiders — they are not alert at all , of course . The seasonal phenomenon is a result of bury atomic number 6 dioxide ice sublimating , or turning to throttle , as the weather warms . The newly released gasolene burst through layers of control surface ice , hold with it dark dust that swash across the earth in mountainous patterns . To be seeable from outer space , as these formations are , the " spiders " must be fairly big — each one measuring 150 to 3,300 feet ( 45 meters to 1 kilometer ) across , according to theEuropean Space Agency(ESA ) . Please , nobody tell Ziggy Stardust the tough news .
Ruins of an “Inca City”
Near the Martian south pole are peculiar body structure that look like the ruins of a vast and ancient city . Dubbed the " Inca City " for its resemblance to genuine ruining discovered in South America , the flakey rock formation may be made of raised sand dunes that turned to stone over metre , according to ESA . However , its exact origins remain a mystery story . The labyrinthine organisation appears to cut , forming part of a giant circle 53 miles ( 86 km ) in diam , leading scientists to suspect it may be part of a much tumid shock crater from a shooting star strike ages ago .
An ancient smiley face
Did someone spray - painta grin faceonto the Martian surface ? Not quite , despite what it looks like in this infrared effigy snapped by ESA ’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter . seeable only under sure condition , the side experience here is actually the remnant of an ancient lake , limn by chloride salt deposits and constellate with two meteor volcanic crater eye . While no Martian graffiti artist are going to bulge up from the lake to claim their work , the brass - comparable social system could contain evidence of ancient living on the Red Planet . As Mars ' once - bountiful lakes dry up , the remaining water source likely became very salty , possibly offer a haven for microbial animation .
An extremely out-of-place rock
One of these affair is not like the other . stand out like a sore Martian thumb inside dust-covered Jezero Crater , this unusually white rockis the first of its kind ever seen on the Red Planet . dub " Atoko Point " after a likewise light - colored feature of the Grand Canyon , the speckled rock is likely made of the minerals pyroxene and feldspar , according to an depth psychology by NASA ’s Perseverance rover . How did such a white rock ‘n’ roll find itself in such dark - hue party ? It probably tumbled down from the crater rim or was enrapture to the crater floor from elsewhere on Mars back when river raged across the neighborhood .
A stony “Star Trek” symbol
look like someone from Starfleetleft their communicator badgeon the Red Planet — or so it would appear from the familiar frame of this stone spotted by the Curiosity wanderer . The stone ’s delta shape is just a conjunction , accord to NASA . It is one of thousands locate on Mount Sharp , which Curiosity has been search for years in its hunting to uncover clues about Mars ' past and whether it ever held the conditions for life .
A “tile floor”
While scale the slopes of Mount Sharp in 2021 , NASA ’s Curiosity wanderer find remnants of what see like a tile floor from a Martian bath . Dozens of interlocked polygonscracked through the dirt ; most contain five or six sides and date to between 3.8 billion and 3.6 billion age ago . These scraggy polygons are clay cracks , which have repeatedly dried out and moistened again over the course of untold years . They likely date stamp to a time when the pee level in the surrounding Gale Crater uprise and fall repeatedly , induce the polygonal wisecrack in the ground to look and disappear over clock time before a final dry patch leave behind them as they are today .
Perfectly circular sand dunes
Mars is covered in dunes of all contour and sizes , but few of them are as perfectly circular as the group recognize above by NASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2022 . Snapped while flying over Mars ' northerly cerebral hemisphere , the image shows abubbling patchwork of dark and strangely round sand dune , slanting southward in the direction where the Martian wind likely blew them . scientist are still not sure why these finical dunes are so round or why they appear to be slowly migrating away from Mars ' equator at a rate of just about 3.3 feet ( 1 m ) per Martian yr ( 687 solar day on Earth ) .
A “shark fin” and a “crab claw”
While trawling through Jezero Crater , NASA ’s Perseverance roamer caught deal ofa few suspicious - looking rocks . The two odd boulders — one jutting upward like a shark fin , and the other pinch like a crabmeat claw — surprised researchers . However , there is n’t much secret to them . They are just rocks , sculpt by the idle words over zillion of days and left in the Martian dust for pattern - seek human mind to ascertain .
A “floating spoon”
In 2015 , NASA ’s Curiosity rover spot what appeared to bea wooden spoon , floating in midair with a phantasm on the land beneath it . It was , of course of action , an ocular illusion ; the spoonful is plainly a careen , shaped by the malarkey over eons , also do it as a ventifact . The handle of the spoony rock juts out from a large formation , allowing the spoon ’s rounded tip to hover over the ground below , range a decided shadow beneath it .
An eerie “face”
A “giant’s fingerprint”
A long time ago , something slammed into the surface of Mars and leave this tremendous , ridged , thumbprint - like depressionbehind . A jumbo finger was not the culprit , of class . locate inside a much large crater called Airy-0 , this Martian hole is the result of an ancient shooting star impact . The bright striations forming the " personal credit line " of the fingermark are a common sight across Mars . Known as thwartwise aeolian ridgepole , they are created when sand dunes get coated in a slight layer of debris . The dust likely contains meditative mineral , giving the depression its glowing appearing in this range .
A rock with an, er … crack
Try not to laugh at this rock tear by NASA ’s Perseverance rover in 2021 . The cracked bowlder became the butt of more than a few laugh after its close - up was first released to the world . There ’s really not much to see , though — the Red Planet is full of crack rock ‘n’ roll , albeit not quite as plump as this one . pertinacity spot this sway in dusty Jezero Crater , on its 102nd day on Mars .
An “angel” and a heart
When it ’s summertime on Mars , the angels come out to play . The Martian south magnetic pole is usually covered in an enormous ice cap , but when the internal-combustion engine thaw in warmer weather , pattern in the ancient , red - hued sediment below add up to lighting . This image , shoot by ESA ’s Mars Express spacecraft , exhibit an Angel Falls - like pattern next to a pump - shaped one . Both of these conversant - front structures are the result of meteor impact craters that scraped away Mars ' dusty surface soil to bring out the darker sediment below .
A weirdly green rock with “drill holes”
Did a bored Martian teen get a hold of his parent ' index tools again ? That is one ( unlikely ) explanation fora strange , green rockseemingly pumped full of practice hole that was spotted by NASA ’s Perseverance bird of passage early in its mission . The roughly 6 - inch ( 15 curium ) rock looks out of shoes in its environment , and scientist are n’t totally sure how to explain it . Perhaps it is the remnant of a shooting star that collided with the Red Planet , or maybe it is a piece of Martian basic principle that was flung far across the world during an impact result . Most of the holes are also a mystery story — but , if you look just right of center , you may see a diminished wagon train of diminutive , uniform pockmark left by Perseverance ’s optical maser , which it evoke at the rock while assay to analyze its penning .
A small “foreign object”
Asmall , rectangular objectspotted in Mars ' Gale Crater in 2018 briefly gift NASA scientists a scare . look vaguely like a dusty sheet of metal , the object was potentially thought to be a glob of the Curiosity rover that had inexplicably fall off . as luck would have it , a nimble analysis showed that the " extraneous object , " as NASA initially dub it , was just a geek of rock that had split up off of a larger formation and was n’t alien to Gale Crater at all .
A strange, white tower
Towering over the Martian horizon in an persona get by NASA ’s Perseverance rover in 2023,a marvellous , white columnstands against the dark , rough ground . It is , in fact , a Martian detritus devil . And it ’s an tremendous one : The dusty swirl get here is taller than an fair twister on Earth and five times tall than the Empire State Building , according to NASA . Formed when rising cell of warm air meet falling columns of cool airwave , dust Lucifer are exceedingly common on Mars — perhaps numbering as many as 145 million per day , one 2018 study estimated .
A “scar” longer than the Grand Canyon
Gaping like a unused wound in this double captured by ESA ’s Mars Express satellite in 2024 , the Martian lineament known as Aganippe Fossa is a mint to lay eyes on . The recondite , benighted ravinestretches around 375 miles ( 600 km ) long — longer than the Grand Canyon , which measures about 277 geographical mile ( 446 kilometre ) long . locate near the base of an extinct volcano , the Martian canyon likely forge as the outcome of ancient volcanic activity — possibly when a turgid pool of magma beneath the volcano pushed violently upward , buck the ground apart , according to ESA .
“Rock candy,” or ultra-rare crystals?
Thesestrangely colour in crystalson Mars were expose by saturated chance event . In May 2024 , NASA ’s Curiosity rover drive over a modest rock ‘n’ roll in its way , unintentionally crush it . swallow up within the stone grave was a cache of rare minerals , including some never experience before on the Red Planet . The yellow crystal are made of pure elemental sulfur . Scientists had long expect that this material survive on Mars but had no proof until Curiosity ’s turn of destructive driving .
A “bullet” hole
What look likea kettle of fish blasted into the Martian landscapeby a stray bullet may be something much more exciting — a possible sanctuary for future cosmonaut . The fix , which measures a few meters across , was imaged by NASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2022 on the flank of a massive vent called Arsia Mons . The pitfall is place along a lava flow and appear to be a vertical putz that could potentially colligate to a deep system of cavern below the volcano . Although the pickle ’s profoundness is unknown , it may be a tantalizing refuge for next astronauts who need a shoes to shield themselves from the acute radiation that beams down on the Red Planet .
An underground “dog”
Strange social organisation do n’t seem only on Mars ' surface but underground as well . In September 2024 , researchers combined data from several Mars - orb space vehicle to create a major planet - wide map of gravitational anomaly — spot where the pull of sobriety is stronger than average , suggesting the presence of massive , dense structures located under the satellite ’s surface . Most of these dense blob are amorphous , but one catch the researchers ' attending : a foreign , dog - shaped structure , with a dark poop and ear , located near the Martian north pole . It ’s unclear how the dense , doggy social system formed , but it could be link to a past meteor impact or a pile - up of volcanic fabric .
Debris from outer space?
Nestled among the dusty , scarlet rocks of Gale Crater , a scraggy , gray objectinstantly caught the aid of scientist operating NASA ’s Curiosity bird of passage . The shrapnel - like rock look out of place because it almost surely is — fit in to research worker , the pointy bowlder is probably the remnant of a meteorite that clangour - landed on Mars ' surface ages ago . dub Ames Knob and measuring about 4 inches across-the-board by 5.5 inch prospicient ( 10 by 14 cm ) , this meteorite is n’t just space trash ; according to NASA investigator , studying the rock could aid reveal the retiring condition on the planet when the meteorite vanish , including whether it landed on land or in now - disappear water .
Debris … from Earth?
In 2022 , NASA spot what looked likethe crash of an " alien " spacecrafton Mars . In this eccentric , the " aliens " were , in fact , Earthlings ; the wreckage consider by NASA ’s Ingenuity Mars whirlybird was a piece of the chopper ’s own chute and backshell , a saucer - like covering fire that helped slow the robotic craft ’s decline as it drop onto the Red Planet along with the larger Perseverance bird of passage . This slice of wrecked human technology , photographed by Ingenuity while it was flying 26 feet ( 8 m ) above the Martian control surface , looks particularly exotic amid the desolate rocks and detritus of the surrounding landscape .
An alien “egg”?
From certain angle , this pockmark rock looks likean oozing , dark-green eggbelonging to some nameless exotic lusus naturae . But a quick analysis from NASA ’s Curiosity rover break that the odd boulder — dubbed Egg Rock — is actually a sherd of a meteorite that bring down on the Red Planet at some obscure time in the past times . meditate Martian meteorite like this one can reveal valuable hint about the planet ’s past but is unlikely to lead back to any extraterrestrial monster nest .
Swirling patterns
Strange patternscarved into the Earth’s surface of Mars ' Nili Fossae region are n’t alien sand art or the Martian rendering ofPeru ’s Nazca Lines . They are , in fact , mineral deposits containing turgid quantities of olivine , a mineral typically only plant deep below the surface of Mars . How did so much olivine - rich sway pass on the planet ’s open ? That question presents a tempting mystery for scientists . It could be that a huge asteroid impact hollow the Martian interior , bring olivine to the Earth’s surface in whirl splatters — or perhaps the subsurface mineral saw daylight watch over a monumental volcanic clap . Its precise origin remains a mystery to this day .
An alien monolith?
When inexpert stargazer were looking through images from NASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter , they spotted something strange in the orbiter ’s data point : a bizarrely rectangular objectreminiscent of the alien monolith from the opening scene of " 2001 : A Space Odyssey . " The perplexing feature is indeed monolithic in form and sizing , according to mission scientists . However , it is potential nothing more than a big , perfectly rectangular careen .
A crawling robot
spot from mile above by NASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter , a crawl metallic robotglints on the Martian surface far below . This is a rare case where the secret object is exactly what it look like ; that robot is NASA ’s Curiosity rover , make its way up Mount Sharp several years into its mission to explore the Red Planet . Concrete grounds that Mars ever sustain life is still lacking — but at least we can say Mars is the only known major planet in the macrocosm inhabited exclusively by robots .
