Unmasking The Famous Face On The Red Planet

One of the most well-known images of Mars is the unsettling “face” that was initially photographed by the space probes, Viking 1 and 2. Cydonia, an area on Mars’ red surface, was home to what seemed to be a massive head about a mile long.

When the face emerged on the displays back at the Jet Propulsion Lab, mission controllers must have been taken aback. However, the euphoria lasted just a short time. Researchers assumed it was simply another Cydonia-area Martian mesa, but the shadows on this one made it appear like an Egyptian Pharaoh. High-quality shots have shown that the mountain structure doesn’t seem much like a face.