Mars was a dream board, an otherworldly realm of potentiality, specter canals and specter cities. But with our robot expeditions slogging it out on its surface, something magical happens a search for the known by Martian monsters, faces, aliens, and objects. Not by supernatural minds but by a psychologic occurrence known as pareidolia.
Pareidolia, psychologic perception of meaningful face in ordinary conformation, is technology age fantasy Martian.NASA Viking 1 mission image of “Face on Mars,” in 1976 is paradigm case par excellence.Face on Mesa within Cydonia region was subject of everyone’s interest, and there were those who thought that it was Martian ancient monument. But later fly bys using even higher resolution cameras, such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, made it impossible routine hill whose face like appearance was optical illusion caused by angle of light and shadow. For which, in ESA Mars Express Project Scientist Agustin Chicarro’s gracious sentence, “These images of the Cydonia region on Mars are truly spectacular they not only provide a completely fresh and detailed view of an area famous to fans of space myths worldwide, but also provide an impressive close up over an area of great interest for planetary geologists.”
This face illusion and bias in the back was cut sharp during the first two seconds of human beings’ lives. We condition the brain to perceive forms and actual faces because error makes us live. To have the right one in wrong shape and to have the concealed one behind is better than acquiring the right one. This survival tactic digs into Earth’s planet crust to consider how we perceive Martian images.Red Planet rocky desert wasteland the fertile ground to allow pareidolia to run amok to warp and twist a chain of delusions to be given a name. The “floating spoon” image snapped by NASA’s Curiosity rover in 2015.
Rock formation of unthinkably old age with seeming to float on top of Martian terrain, it having shadow on the ground. NASA spokesman’s winked and tongue in cheek to replicative media, “There is no spoon. This weird Mars feature is likely a ventifact a rock shaped by wind.” Scientists are flummoxed by Martian freak illusion, revealed as ventifact blown rocks. And where “teddy bear’s face,” the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2023 caught sight of, a mere hill in craterscape. But impossible, too much for us and scientists, smiling bear face. Martian geology marvels also surprise scientists except pareidolia. The most recent is the “blueberries” Opportunity rover in 2004. Bubbles that eavesdrop on water are some of the earlier ushered into dogma Mars in the past was a life friendly world.
That it was is proof witnessed where it discovered that before our days here on Earth, it would have been life’s friend. And similarly, it was found on Martian sand dunes around neither and which in 2022 were discovered by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Nobody has the slightest idea why dunes bend outward and move 3.3 feet south each year on Mars, and nobody among the players on the science playing field has the slightest idea why. Mars teems with puzzles baffling our twenty first century planetary geology.375 miles wide “scar” called Aganippe Fossa as wide as the Grand Canyon. Ancient volcano, and volcano canyon duo, formed by early volcanism, perhaps as the magma built up and ripped the world apart. “bullet hole” to search for in this image and colossal volcano Arsia Mons is another mystery.
This crater, in chain of buried caverns, one day could be home to radiation avoiding astronauts on Mars. Mars’ poem is wonder of technology, dance of fantasy, and wonder of fantasy. As robot diplomat Curiosity and Perseverance rummage the world for us, they remind us of us when our capacity to make what isn’t isn’t is absent. Exoplanetary detritus’s “alien egg” through the “giant’s fingerprint” of erosion of sand dunes, all such delusions are acts of being human imagination’s potency to sense. Pareidolia is absent on Mars. It’s the universe in all its form, again at Horsehead Nebula and Witch Head Nebula, Sun’s jack o’ lantern smile on All Hallows. Mars, science and culture forum limitless wild west barber shop, is beckoning illusion, anyway. Space enthusiasts and astronomy buffs gazing at the Red Planet still perceive shape and tale, lost to myth and fact. Mars is a beautiful planet, mythic and factual. It dominates our geology and renders us immune to human weakness reality.
Whatever “smiley face” of Gale Crater or whirlpool of its its turned its head olivine rock mineral of Nili Fossae, Red Planet secrets stun humankind curiosity and not only world secrets but humankind mind secrets. It is the unlock to future missions and at last to humankind discovery. Mars will surprise and shock us again and again and remind us how much universe is still a world of discovery and not our fiction like creation.
