Knock knock. Who's there? A Martian, apparently, if this 'doorway' on the Red Planet is anything to go by.
One has to be pretty naive to believe we're the only form of somewhat-intelligent life in the entire universe. Somewhere out there in the vast cosmos, there has to be something, right?
Earth has launched a number of space expeditions over the years, but efforts to find other life have centred on Mars. Ever since February last year, the Perseverance rover has spent its time searching for any signs of ancient life.
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While it's hoped the rover will detect microbes indicating past life on the planet, if not current, NASA researchers also want to analyse pieces of Mars back on Earth.
Elsewhere on the planet, the Curiosity rover - launched back in 2011 with similar goals of assessing Mars' potential to host microbial life - has been plodding away in a world of dust. However, a recent photo taken by the rover has some theorists excited.
Snapped by the explorer’s Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Sol 3466 (7 May), the grainy image appears to show a cleanly-cut hole in a rockface.
At the time of writing, there's been no official NASA explanation of the sighting, but debate has been raging online over the image and what its implications may be.
One social media user described the scene as 'a formation on Mars which appears to be a portal and a wall nearby that looks artificial', while another concluded: "Swear to God, there's at least five Martians camouflaged in there."
Others have been more sceptical, with one Reddit user commenting: "It’s obviously not a little door, it’s just a flat piece of broken rock.”
This rather bizarre finding also comes at a time when the US Congress is set to hold an open hearing next week about UFOs - the first of its kind in more than 50 years.
The US House Intelligence Committee’s Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee will tackle the subject.
Rep. André Carson, who's chairing the panel, stated: “The American people expect and deserve their leaders in government and intelligence to seriously evaluate and respond to any potential national security risks - especially those we do not fully understand.”
The US government released a report on documented cases of so-called ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’ in Summer 2021. In it, the Director of National Intelligence examined 144 cases of UFOs, but could explain only one.
Topics: Space, NASA, Conspiracy Theory
Cameron Frew