New high-resolution images of the surface of Mars, taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter, reinforce the interpretation that the famous "Face on Mars" is a natural rock formation.
On July 22, using the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board the Mars Express spacecraft, scientists were able to make the most detailed 3D images to date of the Cydonia region where the "Face" is situated. Previous attempts to image the area from as far back as April 2004 had been prevented by atmospheric dust and a high flight altitude.
The "Face on Mars" became famous 30 years ago when NASA published a photograph of the Martian surface taken by the Viking 1 space probe, which showed an eroded hill with apparent "facial features" highlighted by sunlight and shadow.
Conspiracy theories abounded. Enthusiasts speculated that the 2.4km long "Face" had been built by intelligent beings and that NASA was trying to cover it up. Numerous "pyramids" and "ruined cities" were recognised in nearby landforms and compared with the Sphinx and aerial photographs of the Egyptian pyramids. Some Mars fans with technical expertise digitally reprocessed NASA images of the "Face" and claimed to be able to see finer details, such as pupils in the eyes and nostrils.
Several books and websites are dedicated to the "Martian anomalies", which are now part of popular culture.
NASA maintained that there was no conspiracy and in 1998 and 2001 Mars Global Surveyor re-imaged the Cydonia region hoping to silence the speculation. The better quality images did show that the "Face" was indeed a lot more natural looking than in the fuzzy 1976 images.
The new 3D images, which can be viewed on the European Space Agency (ESA) website www.esa.int , show an even clearer view of the heavily eroded landscape scattered with rock outcrops, including a new rock dubbed the "Skull".
Cydonia lies between the northern plains and southern highlands in an area characterised by wide debris–filled valleys. It is the erosional processes which planetary geologists are interested in studying.
The landforms, including the "Face", may have been sculpted by glaciers or an ancient ocean that once covered the plains, say ESA scientists. But those in search of past civilisations on Mars may not yet be convinced.
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