NASA's Mars Rover 'alien doorway' picture stirs curiosity on social media
A new picture captured by NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover has gone viral, leading to speculations that the image shows an “alien door”. Here’s the theory behind the image debunked.
The theory of alien life on Mars has captured the interest of many people on the internet recently. But we all know that theories are only concepts when there is not a scientific explanation to prove their credibility.
A recent picture from the Martian surface has led to wild speculations on social media.
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First things first, as much as many people will be left disappointed, NASA’s Mars Rover hasn’t spotted a “portal” or “doorway” into another world.
The viral theory stems from a since-removed Reddit post which claimed NASA’s rover recently captured an “alien doorway” on the red planet.
As confirmed by fact-checking website Snopes, Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the image refers to a “very, very, very zoomed in shot of a tiny crevice in a rock”.
“The team’s scientists underlined just how small [the crevice] is: roughly 30 centimeters wide and 45 centimeters across (11 by 17 inches),” a spokesperson for the agency told the outlet.
“They said there are linear fractures throughout this outcrop, and this is a location where several linear fractures happen to intersect,” the statement added.
NASA confirmed the image was taken by Mast Camera on board Curiosity on May 7th, 2022 at a geological location known as Greenheugh Pediment.
Moreover, UFO of Interest‘s Twitter page debunked the theory by referring to a digital mosaic of snaps captured by NASA’s rover.
The mosaic view placed the zoomed-in viral image into a better context, showing that the “alien doorway” is nothing more than a rock formation.
“Watching it in context as part of the whole mosaic, we can see that little niche in a rock with other blocks, fractures, shapes and other erosive features all over that rock face,” UFO of Interest tweeted.
You can find the online mosaic of pictures captured by the rover on NASA’s website.
Many social media users took to Twitter to voice their thoughts about the widely-shared image.
“It’s not a secret doorway built by aliens it’s an optical illusion,” reacted one user.
“Why is there a piece cut out of that rock?” pointed out someone else.
“Where does it lead?” asked another Twitter user. “NASA’s parking lot?”
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