With this new image from NASA’s Perseverance rover, you’d be forgiven for thinking something strange is going on on Mars.
That’s because a car-sized robot captured two separate images of a shark’s fin and a rock resembling a crab’s claw.
After the US Space Agency shared this latest discovery on X (formerly Twitter), it was inundated with responses from space fans who joked that the crab-like rocks were the remains of an “omnipotent giant space crab.”
Others say its “claws” look like coffee beans or a turtle’s head “burrowing for its eggs”, and that the shark’s fin may actually be a Stegosaurus “back plate”. Some people joked.
The photo was taken last month The latest example of a phenomenon known as pareidolia. This is a phenomenon in which the human brain creates meanings that are not real because it wants to understand what it sees.
The oddity: NASA’s Perseverance spacecraft captured two separate images of rocks resembling shark fins and crab claws.
![Purpose: A car-sized rover (pictured) will launch to Mars in 2020 to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/10/75158215-12490957-image-a-22_1694080241198.jpg)
![Purpose: A car-sized rover (pictured) will launch to Mars in 2020 to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/10/75158215-12490957-image-a-22_1694080241198.jpg)
Purpose: A car-sized rover (pictured) will launch to Mars in 2020 to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.
In the most famous case of Mars, this happened in 1976 when NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft took images of what looked like faces carved into the surface of Mars.
When the US Space Agency released the photo to the public, it revealed that it was a shadow-induced illusion, but that didn’t stop it from claiming the face was the work of an extraterrestrial species.
It wasn’t until 20 years later that NASA tried to quell this feverish speculation.
In 1998, the agency’s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) took images of the so-called “Martian face,” ten times sharper than Viking 1, on rocky outcrops that look much more natural. revealed something.
But not everyone was convinced.
Some conspiracy theorists persisted in the idea that the images were obscured by fog, but NASA confirmed in 2001 that it was a common geological feature known as a butte or mesa that also exists on Earth. I proved it once and for all.
‘As soon as I got a good shot, I took a picture of the face,” said Jim Garvin, chief scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program.
“It most reminds me of Middle Butte on the Snake River Plains in Idaho.
“It’s an isolated mesa-shaped lava dome about the same height as the face of Mars.”
![When the US space agency shared the latest discovery on X (formerly Twitter), it was flooded with replies from space fans who joked that the crab-like rock was the remains of an](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/11/75161523-12490957-image-a-29_1694081997396.jpg)
![When the US space agency shared the latest discovery on X (formerly Twitter), it was flooded with replies from space fans who joked that the crab-like rock was the remains of an](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/11/75161523-12490957-image-a-29_1694081997396.jpg)
After the US Space Agency shared this latest discovery on X (formerly Twitter), it was inundated with responses from space fans who joked that the crab-like rocks were the remains of an “omnipotent giant space crab.”
![Some people shared funny GIFs showing what dancing crabs look like on the surface of the Red Planet](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/11/75161521-12490957-image-a-30_1694082000799.jpg)
![Some people shared funny GIFs showing what dancing crabs look like on the surface of the Red Planet](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/11/75161521-12490957-image-a-30_1694082000799.jpg)
Some people shared funny GIFs showing what dancing crabs look like on the surface of the Red Planet
![Others say its](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/11/75161519-12490957-image-a-31_1694082005882.jpg)
![Others say its](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/11/75161519-12490957-image-a-31_1694082005882.jpg)
Others say its “claws” look like coffee beans or the head of a turtle “burrowing for its eggs,” and others say the shark’s fin may actually be a stegosaurus’ “dorsal plate.” Some people joked
However, this is just one example of strange rocks discovered on Mars.
This year alone, the U.S. space agency released photos of donut-shaped rocks and bone-like stones, and Perseverance’s fellow Mars rover Curiosity has seen a rocky surface that some claim is a “doorway.” I photographed the shadow of
However, this idea was quickly dismissed by NASA, with the US space agency revealing that it was only a few inches wide and tall, and geologists saying that it was probably caused by multiple linear cracks in the rock face occurring simultaneously. Said to be the cause.
Perseverance was launched to Mars in 2020 to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.
They are currently investigating an ancient river delta within Jezero Crater that was once filled with a 1,600-foot-deep lake.
Scientists believe the region was inhabited by microbes about 3.5 billion to 3.9 billion years ago, so the rover will be tasked with examining soil samples for evidence of the presence of extraterrestrial life. I owe it.
![Is there any evidence that aliens are working there? In 1976, NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft captured images of what appeared to be faces carved into the surface of Mars.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/10/75157819-12490957-image-a-20_1694080226316.jpg)
![Is there any evidence that aliens are working there? In 1976, NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft captured images of what appeared to be faces carved into the surface of Mars.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/10/75157819-12490957-image-a-20_1694080226316.jpg)
Is there any evidence that aliens are working there? In 1976, NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft captured images of what appeared to be faces carved into the surface of Mars.
![In 1998, the agency's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) took images of the so-called](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/11/75161449-12490957-image-a-25_1694081881722.jpg)
![In 1998, the agency's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) took images of the so-called](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/11/75161449-12490957-image-a-25_1694081881722.jpg)
In 1998, the agency’s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) took images of the so-called “Martian face,” ten times sharper than Viking 1, on rocky outcrops that look much more natural. revealed something. Three years later, NASA announced that this, known as a butte or mesa, is a common geological feature that also exists on Earth.
![Misleading: Earlier this year, Perseverance's fellow Mars rover Curiosity photographed a shadow on a rock face that some say is a](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/10/75157823-12490957-image-a-21_1694080235301.jpg)
![Misleading: Earlier this year, Perseverance's fellow Mars rover Curiosity photographed a shadow on a rock face that some say is a](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/07/10/75157823-12490957-image-a-21_1694080235301.jpg)
Misleading: Earlier this year, Perseverance’s fellow Mars rover Curiosity photographed a shadow on a rock face that some say is a “doorway” (pictured)