Take the face on Mars. The first photograph of this bumpy mesa was snapped by the Viking Orbiter, and released by NASA to the public on July 31, 1976. It is an intriguing image, and certainly does look like a face. In fact, since then, this “face” on Mars has inspired a whole library of books and groups of true believers that now find “evidence” of a “Pyramid” and an “Inca City” as well. All, of course, photographed by Viking but “covered up” by NASA officials. Note that all of the publications help to put bread on the table and pay the rent for the creative folks churning out such books, articles, and tabloid stories about “the face.” Now, imagine being a science teacher with a classroom full of 15-year old students who believe the television accounts of the face on Mars, cities on the Moon, alien autopsies, etc., and you are teaching your unit on space and astronomy. A careful excursion through the characteristics of the planets and their moons interests your students; the red spot on Jupiter would hold at least 3 Earths, a cool factoid, but it doesn’t grab them. The face on Mars does. And this was what I discussed with the science teacher at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) meeting in San Diego, California.
Those Eyes? That Face? The New York Times
Just as improved observational methods eventually discredited the astronomer Percival Lowell’s claims of Martian canals, maybe now a new high-resolution photograph will end talk of a human face sculptured into the planet. The so-called Face on Mars showed up in 1976 in a photograph by the Viking 1 orbiter. The low-resolution image, taken when the sun was relatively low on the Mars horizon and the features cast big shadows, showed what some people claimed was the image of a face carved into a hill.
Mars loses face, gains nature trail
The legendary face of Mars has graced tabloid newspaper covers, inspired theories of alien civilizations and starred in a Hollywood film. But new high-resolution satellite images unmask the truth underneath the peculiar rock formation.
Global Surveyor snaps best view yet of ‘Face on Mars’ Spaceflight Now
A key aspect of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Extended Mission is the opportunity to turn the spacecraft and point the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) at specific features of interest. A chance to point the spacecraft comes about ten times a week. Throughout the Primary Mission (March 1999 – January 2001), nearly all MGS operations were conducted with the spacecraft pointing “nadir” — that is, straight down. In this orientation, opportunities to hit a specific small feature of interest were in some cases rare, and in other cases non-existant.
Nasa: No face – honest
For those who still think it’s a face, built by an ancient race of Martians, the American space agency Nasa just wants to say: Look at this picture. The latest images sent back from the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), show, once again, that what is claimed by some to be a giant face is nothing more than a ruined mountain.
The Face on Mars: Unmasked by New Images
Twenty-five years ago something funny happened around Mars. NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft was circling the planet, snapping photos of possible landing sites for its sister ship Viking 2, when it spotted the shadowy likeness of a human face. An enormous head nearly 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from end to end seemed to be staring back at the cameras from a region of the Red Planet called Cydonia.
Forget About the Face
Nearly 25 years after an orbiting spacecraft caught the Red Planet
Unmasking the Face on Mars
Twenty five years ago something funny happened around Mars. NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft was circling the planet, snapping photos of possible landing sites for its sister ship Viking 2, when it spotted the shadowy likeness of a human face. An enormous head nearly two miles from end to end seemed to be staring back at the cameras from a region of the Red Planet called Cydonia.
Stunning New Images of the Face On Mars
Stunning new images of the controversial “Face on Mars” have been released today by NASA and their contractor for the Mars Global Surveyor. The images were taken in April 2001 using a technique designed to capture the maximum resolution possible, during optimal lighting conditions. The contractor for the MSG camera is Malin Space Science Systems. You can see their complete release, including a 3-D analglyph and very large versions of the image.
The View from Space: ‘Facing’ the facts – John Holliman
The interest in the face on Mars has generated more e-mail (300 pieces this week) than I have time to answer personally, so I’m going to try to tell you what I know here. I talked to NASA administrator Daniel Goldin last Thursday and he tells me the Mars Global Surveyor will continue to take pictures of the Cydonia region, where the face is located, until everyone is satisfied.