A stunning panorama of Mars appears to show a mysterious human-like figure walking in the distance.
The image, captured by NASA’s Spirit rover in 2007, has resurfaced online, with viewers convinced it shows a ‘walking man’ on the Red Planet.
Nestled among rocks is a strange shape that appears to have its arms outstretched and one leg forward, as if caught mid-stride.
The eerie form appeared in a sweeping panorama of the Martian hills captured during the later years of Spirit’s mission. The rover became trapped in soft sand in 2009 and eventually lost power, prompting NASA to declare its mission over in 2011.
While some suggested the object was a walking man, others proposed a ‘statue of someone kneeling with one hand out.’
Many viewers acknowledged that the apparent figure is nothing more than a strangely shaped rock, but some argued there were no similar formations nearby.
One Reddit user shared: ‘This looks to be a combination of rocks or shapes in the surface along with shadowing.
‘You can even find other odd shapes in the photo that don’t appear natural. It would be cool if this were some sort of alien artifact, but if that were the case, I highly doubt NASA and the government would release the photo.’
The image, captured by NASA’s Spirit rover in 2007, has resurfaced online, with viewers convinced it shows a ‘walking man’ on the Red Planet
NASA has maintained that it has no evidence of extraterrestrial life and has yet to find any signs of current or past life on Mars.
Regardless, viewers of the image have proposed wild ideas for what could be seen in the photo.
‘That could be a statue. It’s sitting, not walking. Past life on Mars, Absolutely Yes,’ one Reddit user shared.
Another commented: ‘It’s obviously a person or a statue of one!!! I don’t care what NASA says.’
The Planetary Society published a blog post addressing the mysterious sighting in the Mars image, saying it is nothing more than an optical illusion.
The organization added that pretty much any person would see a humanoid shape in the photo, noting it is a case of pareidolia, the human propensity to see patterns in random shapes.
Another mysterious Mars photo was published online earlier this month, with people claiming it showed an unexploded ‘alien missile’ lying on the Martian surface.
UFO researcher Scott C Waring shared a photo on his site, arguing the object is evidence of an ancient conflict that wiped out a once-thriving civilization, claiming space agencies have remained silent because of its potential military significance.
Nestled among rocks is a strange shape that appears to have its arms outstretched and one leg forward, as if caught mid-stride
Waring even speculated the mysterious object could represent advanced extraterrestrial weapon technology that governments would rush to obtain if it were ever recovered.
The remarkable claims, however, are not supported by NASA, which has offered no indication that the object is anything other than a naturally occurring rock formation.
Scientists have long noted that Mars is shaped by billions of years of volcanic activity, meteorite impacts and relentless wind erosion, processes capable of sculpting rocks into surprisingly artificial-looking shapes.
Similar discoveries have repeatedly sparked claims of alien artifacts on the Red Planet before later being explained as examples of pareidolia, the human tendency to see familiar objects and patterns where none actually exist.
A UFO researcher shared a photo taken by the Curiosity rover that appears to show what he believes is an unexploded ‘alien missile’ lying on the Martian surface
Still, the peculiar shape has reignited debate online, with believers convinced Curiosity stumbled upon the remnants of an extraterrestrial battlefield while skeptics see little more than another Martian rock.
Waring estimated the object measures just over eight feet long and speculated it could be an intact piece of extraterrestrial technology.
He claimed such a discovery would be highly sought after by governments hoping to study advanced weapons, while wondering who might reach it first and what purpose it may have served.
Waring offered no evidence to support those claims, and NASA has not identified the object as anything other than part of the Martian landscape.
