The photographs of what looks to be a gateway carved into a cliff on Mars have caused a frenzy on the internet during the last week.
However, scientists working on NASA’s Curiosity rover, which took the pictures earlier this month, have stated that despite the fact that the mysterious door-like feature on Mars provides a fascinating “doorway into the ancient past,” it is entirely natural and not the work of some aliens who are trying to keep a low profile.
The Mars “door” was discovered by the Curiosity rover on May 7 when it was studying a mound in the Gale Crater known as the East Cliffs. The rover has been investigating the Gale Crater ever since it landed on Mars in 2012. According to a statement released by NASA, the picture of the mysterious fissure was captured by the rover using its Mastcam instrument. The fissure is just 12 inches (30 centimeters) in height and 16 inches (40 centimeters) in width. Because it is obvious that people would have a tough time accessing the cliff via this “door,” the NASA crew referred to it as the “dog door” rather than the “cliff door.”
According to the statement released by NASA, “these types of open fissures are prevalent in bedrock, both on Earth and on Mars.”
The Curiosity rover team commented on the internet frenzy that surrounded the discovery of the “door” on Twitter, saying that the phenomenon known as “pareidolia,” in which the human brain has a tendency to look for patterns that make sense in ambiguous shapes, is the reason behind the internet sensation.
“In appearance, it may be mistaken for a little door, but in reality, it’s a natural geologic structure! Because your mind is attempting to make sense of the unfamiliar, it is possible that all it seems to be is a door “said members of the Curiosity team in a Twitter thread. “The mound has a number of fractures running in a linear direction; however, at this particular location, multiple fractures meet, which enables the rock to break at such acute angles.”
However, the group said that despite the fact that they do not anticipate making a groundbreaking finding of an extraterrestrial civilization beyond the dog door, they do anticipate that the peculiar crack will present exciting prospects for new scientific research.
The researchers said that they were intrigued in the rocks because they may potentially serve as a “door” to the distant past.
It is possible that not everyone will be content with this explanation, especially in light of the current revival of interest in Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).
