Curiosity Mars Photo Fuels 2023 UFO Debate as Object Vanishes From Other Images
Updated
Updated · SportsChosun · Aug 14
Curiosity Mars Photo Fuels 2023 UFO Debate as Object Vanishes From Other Images
3 articles · Updated · SportsChosun · Aug 14
Summary
A Curiosity rover image taken at 6:27 p.m. ET on Aug. 20, 2023 shows a small black shape on Mars that users say resembles a jellyfish, machine or two-legged creature.
Other photos of the same area did not show the object, leaving no clear way to tell whether it moved, approached the rover or resulted from a temporary imaging glitch.
Kari Siebertsen, a social media user who highlights unusual NASA space images, revived attention to the photo and argued Mars remains a plausible place to search for life.
Experts and skeptics pointed instead to image artifacts, shadows or pareidolia—the tendency to see familiar forms in ambiguous visuals—while NASA says it has found no evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life.