Space & Astronomy

Weird skull-like 'face' photographed by rover on the surface of Mars

By T.K. Randall
October 12, 2024 ·  14 comments

The 'skull' is lying flat on the left-hand side. Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech It might not be quite as iconic as the 'Face on Mars' photographed over the Cydonia region of Mars by NASA's Viking orbiters back in the 1970s, but this modern-day equivalent - which was spotted by the Perseverance rover recently - has still been raising eyebrows this week.

Featured as NASA's official 'image of the week', the photo was taken back on September 27th.

On the left-hand side of the frame, it is possible to see a skull-like human face - complete with large empty eye sockets, a nose and a mouth - lying sideways in the dust.It actually looks a bit like Boni - a talking skull from obscure 1980s British children's show Trap Door (let us know in the comments if you got this reference!)

In reality, the 'face' is likely to be little more than pareidolia - the tendency for the human brain to perceive meaningful shapes in abstract patterns.

We've certainly seen plenty of examples of this on Mars over the years, ranging from faces and skulls to giant crabs and even the outline of Beaker from The Muppets.

With its barren landscape strewn with randomly shaped boulders, rocky outcrops and other geological features, it's perhaps not surprising that Mars has proven to be a prime location for this phenomenon.

Source: IFL Science | Comments (14)

Tags: Mars, Face