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Mystery on Mars
Tom Karpik - Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 | 1:32PM (PT)


Armchair scientists, get out your keyboards

Since it seems that we all love a bit of mystery, here's a fun story for everyone.

NASA's hard-working little rover, Spirit, took some photographs on the Martian surface over the span of a couple of days back in November. In one of these images, there appears to be some sort of rock formation that closely resembles a man strolling about steadfastly on the planet's surface.

At first glance, it definitely looks like a human shape, but after looking at it for a while, it looks like the bottom part of the figure blends in/is connected somehow to the rock behind which it appears to be. What are the opinions of my fellow armchair scientists here?

PS: CNET has the rest of the small gallery up.

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Comments:

January 23rd, 2008 1:43PM(PT)
Wolfwood
Methinks he'll be needing some toilet paper after he's finished his business there. Besides, we all know thanks to Michael Bay that Transformers occassionally stop by Mars for "beyond classified" photo-ops.
January 23rd, 2008 2:04PM(PT)
RabidChinaGirl
I think I see boobies. Could be a female.
January 23rd, 2008 2:08PM(PT)
TheFogIsRising
It does look anthropomorphic, but it seems like a huge coincidence that the first evidence o life on Mars is just suddenly caught for everyone to see in November. Then again, if an alien race landed a vessel on our planet, it is likely they would investigate. That whole crap on BBC about it looking like the mermaid in Denmark is really funny, though! The main question I have is, did anyone else notice that it is all part of one piece, there's at least three different colors that make up the structure?
January 23rd, 2008 2:09PM(PT)
kspiess
I think its... BIGFOOT ! Space Bigfoot.
January 23rd, 2008 2:14PM(PT)
TheFogIsRising
LoL, you read it too? Nice......
January 23rd, 2008 2:35PM(PT)
tallteen86
Ahhhh, the blurry quality is what makes it look humanoid...

I bet if you saw a high resolution, sharper image of it, it would look like a random rock formation...

Same thing happened with that 'face' on Mars...After they had higher quality image of the 'face', it just looked like a pile of rubble >_>

Anyhow, the chances of there being humanoid shaped anything on Mars, is slim to none...It isn't like Star trek you know, even if mars Had more intelligent life at some point, the chances of it also beng bipedal with a head like that, and human-shaped is unlikely...There are a bunch of different forms that would serve an intelligent creature well, some better than Humanoid shape >_>
January 23rd, 2008 2:38PM(PT)
iamjoe56
Hello Nevada Desert!
January 23rd, 2008 3:22PM(PT)
TheFogIsRising
Oh snap.... the Nevada Desert? I'm assuming your talking about filming it there, not Groom Lake.... Possible, but that's the same damn thing conspiracy theorists said about the moon landing. Of course, do we really trust people (NASA) that once thought they were measuring in metric units when the designer made it in imperial units? I guess he didn't get the memo......
January 23rd, 2008 3:26PM(PT)
iamjoe56
lol. I am nto a conspiricy theorist. I am saying that looks ALOT like the Nevada desert, I want to see were this pic came from..also, the blurry quility just screams fake. NASA doesn't put low res cameras on there rovers.
January 23rd, 2008 3:48PM(PT)
kspiess
Keep in mind that that is a really big blow up though. The original full image was like 120 MB's or something, if I remember correctly.

Also, it does look a lot like the Nevada desert. When you consider how varied planets can be, Mars is actually a lot like Earth. Mars is sort of like an Earth with not as much stuff...
January 23rd, 2008 4:03PM(PT)
iamjoe56
I enhanced the picture, and re formatted it into a jpeg format, and It looksl ike there are plants in the background. I am currently trying to get Photobucket to upload it, then I'll post for all to see.
January 23rd, 2008 4:08PM(PT)
iamjoe56


Ok. I noticed that the "red" martian dirt isn't very red at all. >_> Also, those shaded areas behind the charector, to me, look like a windswept sand dune or small tufts of grass.
January 23rd, 2008 4:20PM(PT)
DeathMonkey
They look more like little rocks to me. I don't really doubt that it is an image from mars, they don't need to fake that but I don't think its a life-form in that image.
January 23rd, 2008 4:22PM(PT)
RabidChinaGirl
You're all wrong.

They are OBVIOUSLY thousands of holes created by Martian gophers, and if we dig we'll find a vast and complex network of tunnels left behind but the alien rodents.
January 23rd, 2008 4:42PM(PT)
iamjoe56
Didn't Tom and Jerry go to mars recently? Those little green people are very irritating. [Damn my little sister for watching that stuff!]
January 23rd, 2008 4:44PM(PT)
dal112
And then Governor Arnold will have to remember about being an agent of some sort and start the oxygen system again?
January 23rd, 2008 8:11PM(PT)
ButchSmudge31
I saw this on the front of a newspaper.
It looks more like a person then a rock. But thats just me. =/
January 24th, 2008 12:32AM(PT)
Bomn
No, No, No...

You are all wrong again ...

Tom Cruise knows it ... It's a guy who escaped to mars just to be burned in the scenery with those laser thingy's ...

This time they win ...
January 24th, 2008 5:34AM(PT)
THM
After observing this picture rigorously, I reckon this is just the 'sand indentation.' But it looks like black object from above and it also looks like 'Martian Marmaid' which has come from Jupiter!!!
January 24th, 2008 9:27AM(PT)
GamePunk
Lol, why are NASA making such a big deal out of this? it looks like a funny rock to me...

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