NASA says it's just a rock

Jan 23, 2008 09:05 GMT  ·  By

No, it's not a fake! Just to clear it out, this image is not some Photoshop creation. In fact, the picture comes directly from NASA, and shows a humanly figure looking extremely similar to a female, holding her arm in the air like it is signaling a car to stop. On the other hand, NASA only sees a rock formation in the rough shape of a human, and continues to sustain its previous statements saying there hasn't been found any life forms outside Earth. Well, at least we have something to fuel the conspiracy theories for a while...

The original photograph has been taken back in 2004 by NASA's Martian rover Spirit and for a long time it remained just another picture of Mars. However, an amateur astronomer, inspecting a series of images taken over the years by the twin rovers Opportunity and Spirit, spent nearly four yeas studying this particular photo showing the 'alien', and finally decided to share his little secret.

People started getting excited really fast, flooding the Internet with their personal opinions. "I saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars," said one. Another argues that the Martian Big Foot really exists and until another picture of a rock showing similar features is released, he can't be made to change his mind, especially taking in consideration that NASA has been 'hiding' this image for more than four years.

Indeed, the human eye can be fooled rather easily, not to mention the brain which contributes with high levels of imagination. Humans tend to hang on to images of things most familiar to them, and even the slightest suggestion and rumor can trigger unbelievable ideas. Remember the Big Foot spotted in the U.S. a few years ago? Guess what? They haven't found him yet! Don't worry it didn't run on Mars, the alien-looking structure in the picture is just a rock, get over it!

The Martian land rover Spirit landed on the surface of the Red Planet in January 2004 and was supposed to carry a 90 day mission in which it would have studied the Gusev Crater, that is thought to be an ancient bed lake. Four years later, and the vehicle is still functional. It brought numerous evidence that Mars could have been much warmer in the past, had liquid water and might have been able to support life.