The online community and the scientific community have just been shaken by the new images released by NASA of a rock on the surface of Mars that looks exactly like a human standing upright. From the photos taken by Rover Perseverance, this rock makes many people immediately think of a humanoid creature in the middle of a giant red desert.
Immediately, the image spread at a dizzying speed, becoming a topic of debate on scientific forums and social networks: is Mars sending a signal of life or is this just a game of light and time?
Scientists quickly explained: This is a pareidolia phenomenon – when light, shadow and erosion create a shape that makes the human eye recognize a familiar image. A planetary geologist explained:
“The rock is not a person, not a robot or any creature. It is just the result of millions of years of wind and sandstorms creating a seemingly lifelike shape.”
However, netizens are not very interested in scientific explanations. Thousands of posts speculate that the rock is an “ancient Martian”, a “monument of a lost civilization”, and even fictional stories about time travel between Earth and the Red Planet.
A famous astronomy blogger commented:
“Mars always knows how to play tricks on our imagination. The longer you look at it, the more it looks like a real person. It is a strange attraction created by the combination of geology and light.”
Whether it is a scientific fact or a spectacular illusion, the human-shaped rock on Mars has once again blurred the line between geology and imagination, making space enthusiasts around the world restless.
And perhaps, with Mars, making people dream and curious is… the real purpose of each rock!
