Something strange seems to be happening on Mars. NASA’s Perseverance rover recently discovered a shark fin-like outcrop and accompanying crab-claw-like rocks on Mars.
Since arriving on Mars on February 18, 2021, the rotating robot has been exploring the planet’s Jezero Crater, searching for signs of ancient life. But these strange rocks, photographed on August 18, 2023, were a surprise.
Although Mars’ now barren and dry terrain was teeming with water billions of years ago, there is no evidence that Mars was ever rich in seafood of any kind, and these images show that It does not change. Instead, the rocks in the image are evidence of pareidolia.
Pareidolia refers to the brain’s tendency to recognize meaningful images from random visual data. It’s the reason we see dogs and clowns in the clouds, and it’s been responsible for humans catching various celebrities in their food. And Mars is used to being exposed to pareidolia.
In fact, one of the most famous examples of pareidolia in history is the iconic “Face of Mars.”
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What did Mars’ face look like?
In July 1976, NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft explored Mars from orbit and took photographs of the Martian landscape that were later used to select a landing site for the Viking 2 lander. Later, something unusual was revealed on the operator’s monitors on Earth.
The spacecraft appeared to capture a giant sculpture of a crudely drawn face with many eyes, noses, and mouths. The image was released a few days after it was taken and caused quite a stir, even though NASA revealed that the appearance of the face was an optical illusion caused by shadows. Many people claimed that this was the work of sentient beings.
The debate over the “face of Mars” intensified (at least in certain areas) throughout the 1980s, with books published on the subject and even scientific conferences held to discuss it.
Much of the sensationalism surrounding this image was resolved in the late 1990s. In September 1997, NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) arrived on Mars. One of its main tasks was to re-examine this rock outcrop.
“We felt this was important to taxpayers,” says Jim Garvin, chief scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. explained in a statement. “We took pictures as soon as we could get a good picture of the face.”
In April 1998, MGS finally flew over the face of Mars, the Cydonia region of Mars, capturing images 10 times clearer than those taken by Viking 1 18 years earlier. These revealed that the geological formations were more natural in nature. , there is evidence of fading of facial features. Still, some claimed that the facial features of the alleged alien monument were obscured by fog as MGS flew overhead.
But such opposition was dealt a serious blow in April 2001, when the same spacecraft photographed an outcrop at Sidonia on a cloudless day. This revealed that the face of Mars is a butte, or mesa, a geological feature common in the western United States.
“It most reminds me of Middle Butte on the Snake River Plain in Idaho,” Garvin said. “It’s an isolated mesa-shaped lava dome about the same height as the face of Mars.”
But the revelation that this Martian face sculpture is nothing more than a common geological structure hasn’t quelled our passion for cosmic imitations.
In May, Perseverance’s Mars rover colleagues spotted a shadow feature on a rock wall known as the East Cliff, which many claimed was a “doorway” carved into the rock. Some speculated that this might be one end of a passageway leading to an underground bunker.
NASA put a damper on speculation when it revealed that this so-called doorway is only a few inches wide and tall. Geologists also added that it was probably the result of multiple linear cracks overlapping, spoiling the party.
But there was still something to discuss, as recent images from the agency’s Curiosity rover appeared to show an abandoned spoon floating on the surface of Mars.
It has been revealed that the floating cutlery photographed on August 30th is actually a strangely shaped rock, with NASA officials writing in the caption of the image: “There is no spoon. This strange Martian feature.” is probably a vent, a rock shaped by the wind.”
The “Mars Spoon” is just further evidence that humans have indeed eaten up all Mars-related pareidolia. Although these images ultimately represent random rock formations, speculating about their significance can be interesting in itself.