- South Pole of the Red Planet
This strange snapshot of the landscape resembles a strip of worms or a strange anthill. However, this is an orbital view from the MRO 2016 at the South Pole. The polar cap consists of carbon dioxide (dry ice), which does not form naturally on Earth. Circular grooves - holes in the layer of dry ice, expanding by several meters each Martian year.
- Alien Kiss
Cheer up! It seems that this Martian rock is dreaming to kiss you. The unusual formation resembles a humanoid face with an eye, nose, forehead, chin, and elongated lips. Alien hunters spotted the rock in the Curiosity image sent in late 2016. This is a bizarre feature, but definitely not a kiss from aliens.
- Search for alien “faces” on Mars
With unlimited fantasy and small time costs, anyone can find alien faces and statues of faces on the Martian surface. Here are two examples captured by Curiosity at the end of 2016. This is the effect of the pareidolia effect and our imagination, which forces us to associate with famous images.
- Martian “Blueberry”
No, you won't find anything edible here. These are rich hematite balls, which are used to be called simply “blueberries”. In 2004, the Opportunity rover spotted these formations near the small Martian crater Fram.
- Scratched Marks on Mars
What do you see? Nail marks? Eyelashes? The MRO orbiter got a picture in 2017, showing unusual lines. NASA reports that these are linear ravines created by dry ice sliding down the slopes of sand dunes.
- Collection of spheres
In 2004, Opportunity was lucky to look at the unusual Martian “blueberry”, and in 2012 to look at the strange formation called Kirkwood. These are iron-rich balls, characterized by their concentration, distribution and structure. The agency has not yet determined their exact nature, but the influence of erosion is noticeable on the surface.
- Not a cannonball
In December 2017, a close-up of a spherical object captured by a Curiosity rover appeared on a popular UFO blog. The author suggested that this is a cannonball, remaining from the time of the war on the Red Planet. NASA replied that the feature does not exceed 5 mm in size and consists of calcium sulphate, sodium and magnesium.
