The other day, in one of the images of the Curiosity rover, which NASA published on its official website, ufologists discovered a silhouette resembling the figure of a woman.
Let's take a closer look at this and other similar cases.
ghost woman
The silhouette looks so believable that for some it may be the embodiment of a desire to find extraterrestrial life. The picture is complemented by the fact that the “ghost” seems to be standing on a stone, demanding attention.
Yeti
The legendary find of the Spirit rover. A snapshot from 2008 showing the silhouette of a creature as if wandering through the red desert. Due to the fact that his posture was reminiscent of the famous frame, where he allegedly captured Big Foot, the mysterious stranger was nicknamed the "Martian Yeti".
alien temple
A 2008 Opportunity rover image showing layered rock that reminded ufologists of human (or alien) hands. The hoaxers suggested that the frame captured the entrance to the ruined temple with a large monument that welcomes visitors. Nearby, a "Martian ship" immersed in the sand was also discovered. 
Trees
Photo taken in 2011 space station Reconnassance Orbiter, for which there is a fairly simple scientific explanation. First, if they were trees, then, judging by the picture, they would grow parallel to the surface of the planet. Secondly, such footprints in the sand are the result of the evaporation of frozen carbon dioxide. 
temple-face
The legendary photo that excited the minds of people in the late seventies and early eighties. Then many decided that a certain civilization built a temple in the shape of a human face on Mars.
Giant smiley
In 1976 spaceship Viking Orbiter 1 spotted a giant 'smiley face' on Mars. In 1999, with clearer frames, scientists managed to take a closer look at it. We are talking about a crater with a radius of 230 kilometers. The find was later used in the famous Guardians comic.
Ball
In September 2014, the Curiosity rover sent back a picture of a flawless-looking orb lying on the surface of the planet. However, NASA quickly cooled the ardor of ufologists: the size of the “artifact” is about one centimeter in diameter, and it turned out, most likely, as a result of a geological process called nodule. During it around some small solid body something like a snowball is formed.
Little helmet, bone and Martian rat
No, they are just rocks. 
Flash Light
A picture of Curiosity taken in April 2014 gave ufologists a reason to believe that aliens accidentally gave themselves away with a flash in the dark. However, NASA scientist Doug Ellison dispelled the myth, suggesting that it could be a cosmic ray impact - a stream of charged particles.
Drawing on the ground
The only real man-made artifact on Mars is the footprints left by the Curiosity rover. 
Just a couple of days ago, in one of the pictures, they again discovered a mysterious find, the “Martian crab”. These photos posted on the official website of NASA, spread all over the media and other sources of information and caused a lot of controversy. We present you a video about this photo.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. The distance from it to the heavenly body is 227.9 kilometers. Mars, also known as the Red Planet for its rusty red color, is not far from Earth. Only Venus is closer to us.
Mankind has known about Mars since ancient times. Even in the ancient Chinese chronicles, the "Fire Star" is repeatedly mentioned. The space counterpart of the Earth has long been carefully studied by people. However, despite dozens of aircraft sent to Mars, the mysteries and mysteries of this planet for the most part remain unsolved.
Duplicity of the Red Planet
For many decades, scientists have been interested in the mystery of Mars associated with its unusual relief. The fact is that there is a huge difference between the Northern and Southern hemispheres of this cosmic body. The first of these is the smoothest place that could be found in our solar system. Its relief is low and flat. Scientists suggest that this nature of the surface was formed under the influence of water, large volumes of which were here many years ago.
But in contrast to the North, it is completely riddled with craters of various sizes. In addition, it is higher on average by 4-8 kilometers. Do scientists have an assumption about the reasons for the formation of such an unusual relief, what is the solution to the mystery of Mars in this case? NASA, which is actively exploring the Red Planet, suggests that such differences are most likely caused either by "space bombardment" of small objects, or by the impact of a giant asteroid that occurred in the distant past. However, until now no one can unequivocally explain the reason for such a large difference in the relief of the Martian hemispheres.
Age differences
Scientists have calculated that there are 3305 craters on Mars from meteorites that hit the surface, the diameter of which exceeds 30 km. The overwhelming majority of them (3068) are located on the territory of the Southern Hemisphere. And only 237 craters were found in the low-lying part of the planet. This fact indicates the difference in the age of the two hemispheres. That is, the southern part of Mars is more ancient, and the northern part is young.
Methane in the atmosphere
What other mysteries of our space brother are NASA scientists working on? The mystery of Mars, the unambiguous explanation of which has not yet been received, concerns the presence of methane present in the atmosphere of the Red Planet. On Earth, this colorless gas, which is the simplest hydrocarbon, is produced biogenically. Its appearance is facilitated by the processes of biochemical and chemical transformation of organic substances. Thus, a significant source of methane on our planet is the biogenic fermentation of the mass of cattle manure. According to scientists, methane can exist in its original form for only three hundred years. That is, according to our earthly ideas, this gas simply should not exist on the Red Planet. Nevertheless, it is present in the atmosphere of Mars, and in enough large quantities. Where does he come from? It is believed that the solution to the mystery of Mars lies in its volcanic activity. However, the research vehicles that visited the Red Planet did not find any signs of this process. So the search for the source of methane continues.
Is there liquid water on Mars?
Based on the relief of the Red Planet, scientists suggest that it once had an entire ocean. In addition, according to indirect data obtained from research satellites, it can be concluded that in the past entire streams of water flowed through Mars. On the one hand, there is not enough atmospheric pressure on the Red Planet to maintain the liquid state of matter. But on the other hand, in the images of aircraft on the slopes of the planet's hills, narrow dark lines are clearly visible, which will make it possible to suggest the passage of salt water here in the spring season.
Discovery of scientists
The American agency NASA has revealed the secret of Mars regarding the presence of liquid water on it. On September 28, 2015, its representatives announced this at a press conference specially assembled on this occasion. This event was broadcast on the agency's website and live on NASA Television. In addition, a publication about the main results of this conference appeared in Nature Geoscience.
The main conclusion of the event was that NASA had solved the mystery of Mars. Agency scientists said that on the Red Planet there are streams of salty liquid water that are seasonal. Such formations appear in the warm period and disappear in the cold.
Scientists say NASA has solved the mystery of Mars thanks to high-quality images received from an orbiting Martian satellite. The data has been released:
NASA chief planetary scientist Jim Green;
Leading explorer of the Red Planet - Michael Meyer;
To scientists from the California Research Center - Mary Beth Wilhelm;
Georgia scientists working in Institute of Technology- Luhendra Oiha;
The Chief Scientific Instrument Specialist at the University of Arizona is Alfred McEune.
In confirmation that the main secret of Mars has been revealed, scientists have provided the public with a special method that allowed them to get more accurate images. As a result of the studies carried out, convincing evidence was obtained that there are hydrated salts (perchlorates) on the slopes. Some of these compounds allow the liquid not to freeze even at a temperature of minus seventy degrees Celsius. Scientists have previously discovered perchlorates on Mars, but their hydrated form is the first time.
Objective picture
According to the description of NASA scientists, streams of salt water periodically appear and disappear on the slopes of the Martian hills. Their width reaches a maximum of five meters. The researchers note that perchlorates on the Red Planet are found only in areas where salty rivers flow. Even in neighboring areas, traces of such compounds were not found.
The question of the existence of life
The secrets of Mars continue to haunt the minds of mankind. And the main one concerns the presence of living beings on the Red Planet. It all started in 1877, when the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiparelli discovered entire systems of straight long lines, which were later called "Martian channels". From that moment on, the main mystery of Mars began to lie in the answer to the question: “Does life exist on it?” Moreover, science fiction writers implied the presence of an intelligent civilization on the Red Planet.
Later, the fact that Mars is very dry and cold was undeniably proven. In addition, its atmosphere is much thinner than on Earth. The channels turned out to be nothing more than an optical illusion that arose when considering the planet through a telescope.
Hopes of finding brothers in space finally vanished in 1965, when the Mariner 4 probe transmitted photographs of the lifeless surface to Earth. Then it seemed that the question of existence put a bullet point. However, eleven years later, an apparatus from the Viking series reached the Red Planet. And then scientists realized that the question of the existence of life on Mars can again be considered open. Subsequently, various studies of the chemical activity of the soil layers were carried out, organic molecules of methyl chloride and dichloromethane were found, formations similar to dried-up river channels were found on surface photographs, etc. All this caused a lot of controversy and discussions that continue to this day.
Plans for further exploration of the Red Planet
The mysteries of Mars continue to be revealed. After NASA revealed the presence of salt water on the planet, the version of the existence of life on it became quite probable. The American agency promised even to find confirmation of this not later than in the next 10-20 years. This forecast was announced on April 7, 2015 by NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan. And already on May 15, 2015, representatives of the agency announced the immediate task of NASA - the delivery of a man to Mars.
There are currently five stations operating in orbit around Earth's neighbor. Three of them are launched by NASA. Also in the US are preparing to ship two scientific laboratories. The start of the first of them should take place in March 2016. The task of this laboratory is to study the structure of the interior of the Red Planet to a depth of five meters, as well as the distribution of temperature in them. The launch of the second laboratory is scheduled for 2020. It should collect all the necessary data that will allow manned flights to our space neighbor in the 2030s. According to preliminary calculations, the astronauts' journey in both directions will take about five hundred days.
"Glass Worms"
It is possible that the flight of astronauts will reveal many other secrets of Mars. One of them is the mysterious objects that researchers call "glass pipes", "glass tunnels" or "glass worms".
Scientists suggest that all of them are the result of life on the Red Planet in the distant past. These tubular objects sometimes reflect light and look like perforated tunnels, pipes, or giant earthworms.
Possible catastrophes
What other secrets of Mars excite humanity? To date, scientists do not dispute the fact that the Red Planet had a hydrosphere and atmosphere. They are believed to have been thrown into outer space as a result of the disaster. The opinions of scientists also agree that once on Mars there was a humid and relatively warm habitat suitable for higher forms life.
As the cause of the disaster is called the fall of three huge asteroids on the planet. It is assumed that it was from them that craters were formed, which have the largest diameter among similar formations in the entire solar system. Among them:
Hellas, having a diameter of 2000 kilometers;
Isis - 1000 km;
Argir, which has a diameter of 630 km.
It is assumed that the asteroids were very large space fragments. Their diameters were approximately 100, 50, and also 36 km. Scientists have approximately established the time of the disaster. According to data coming from the Red Planet, this is from 17 to 600 thousand years ago.
martian sphinx
Supporters of the existence of life on the Red Planet put forward photographs of a strange formation resembling a woman's face in support of their version. They were obtained back in 1976. However, against the background of the lifeless landscapes of the planet, such an image was mistaken for a bizarre play of light and shadow. Only a little later, scientists, with the help of a special computer program, enlarged the photograph. Thanks to this, the “face” began to be seen more distinctly and even more acquired human features.
Of course, no one has canceled the laws of probability theory, according to which the play of light and shadow can cause any image to appear. However, this is easy to check. After all, if you change the direction of lighting, then a similar effect will disappear immediately. However, pictures of space stations operating on different orbits of Mars indicate the presence of the "sphinx". In addition, the computer-assisted stereo imaging produced amazing results. The necklace, nostrils and other points that were considered obstacles did not disappear at all. At the same time, the computer drew the pupils of the eyes she saw, as well as the teeth in the parted mouth.
pyramids
Mars is a planet whose secrets to date have not been fully disclosed by mankind. Among them are mysterious structures resembling pyramids. They are separated from the sphinx at a distance of seven kilometers and represent a whole "city". According to the data obtained from the images, there are only 11 pyramids. Of these, four are large and seven are smaller sizes. Many scientists do not consider them to be the result of volcanic activity or another natural process. The fact is that the shape of the pyramids discovered on Mars is too correct. They have three, four or five sharp edges and a top. In addition, there are no traces of lava flows on the slopes of these formations. There is also no crater.
Modern computer programs discovered between the pyramids straight lines resembling roads, as well as a strange round area. The size of the pyramids is amazing. The largest of them, located in the center of the "city", exceeds the earthly pyramid of Cheops by almost ten times.
City on Mars?
The purpose of the pyramids on the Red Planet is more or less clear to those scientists who claim that life existed here in the past. But about the "circle", the diameter of which is a whole kilometer, you can argue ad infinitum. What is this?
A polygon or a spaceport, a covered crater or a laboratory similar to an accelerator? Or maybe this circle is the central square of the city? Many researchers focus on the latter option, based on a large number straight lines or "roads" converging at that point.
Mars has been known to mankind since ancient times. Even ancient Chinese chronicles mention it as the "Fire Star". People have long and carefully studied our cosmic brother. But, despite the fact that dozens have been sent to the planet Mars, and telescopes have been staring at it for many years, much remains unknown. The "Red Planet" is in no hurry to reveal its secrets.
So, the 5 most interesting and unsolved mysteries of the Red Planet.
1. Two-faced Mars.
Surface of Mars. global mosaic.
Scientists for many decades cannot answer the question of why the two hemispheres of one planet are so different.
The north is flat and low, one of the smoothest places in the solar system. There are suggestions that such relief is caused by liquid water, which once flowed in huge quantities on the surface of Mars.
The southern hemisphere, on the contrary, is riddled with craters and on average from 4 to 8 km. above the height of the northern basin. Recent evidence suggests that such differences may be caused by a large asteroid impact or "space bombardment" by smaller objects in the planet's distant past.
Image of the northern circumpolar regions of Mars.
However, an unambiguous explanation for such cardinal differences between parts of one planet has not yet been given.
2. Where does methane come from in the Martian atmosphere?
The question of the presence of methane in the atmosphere of the red neighbor has been tormenting scientists for many years.
Methane is a colorless gas, the simplest hydrocarbon. On Earth, most of it appears biogenically as a result of chemical and biochemical transformation. organic matter. For example, a significant source is the biogenic fermentation of cattle manure. According to currently accepted estimates, under the conditions of the atmosphere of the planet Mars, methane can exist unchanged for no more than 300 years, i.e. today, even traces of methane should not be there.
Despite this, this gas is present in the atmosphere of Mars in quantities sufficient for scientists to wonder: where does it come from?
Life on Mars has not yet been found, there are suggestions of volcanic activity as a source of methane. Fortunately, the existence of the same Olympus ( the largest mountain and the largest volcano solar system) indicates the presence of active volcanism in the history of the planet. On the other hand, not a single research apparatus that has visited Mars for decades has noticed its study of volcanic activity on the planet.
Mars Express mission in the mind of the artist.
So the search for the source of methane in the atmosphere of the planet Mars continues...
3. Is there liquid water on the surface of Mars at present?
A huge amount of circumstantial evidence suggests that streams of liquid water flowed across Mars at one time. It is quite possible that there was an entire ocean on the planet. However, the question of the presence of liquid water on the Red Planet currently remains open.
On the one side Atmosphere pressure on the surface is too small (1/100th of the earth) to maintain water in a liquid state. On the other hand, dark narrow lines found on the Martian slopes hint that salty water flows over them every spring.
An image synthesized from orbital images and combined with a 3D model shows flows appearing on the inner slope of a Martian crater
Newton in spring and summer.
4. Did oceans exist on Mars?
Numerous Mars missions have discovered a number of features of the Red Planet that suggest that at some point in the past, Mars was warm enough not only for the existence of liquid water, but also for the appearance of entire water pools.
The relief of the northern hemisphere of the planet, dried up channels and entire river deltas, network structures and the presence of minerals for the appearance of which the presence of liquid water is necessary. All this tells us: there was water on Mars!
Spherical minerals on the surface of Mars.
Unfortunately, none of modern models The early climate of Mars cannot explain how the temperatures necessary for the transition of water to a liquid state could exist on the planet at that time, because the Sun shone weaker than now. Perhaps ancient Mars was cold and wet, and not cold and dry or warm and wet, as claimed today?
Ancient Mars as seen by an artist.
5. Is there life on Mars?
Since Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiparelli discovered a network of long straight lines on the disk of the Red Planet in 1877, later called "Martian channels", the planet Mars has become the first candidate for life outside our planet. Moreover, as the science fiction writers of that time believed, intelligent life.
"Martian channels" fig. G. Schiparelli.
Subsequently, it was proved that Mars is very cold and dry, its atmosphere is much rarer than Earth's. The channels turned out to be a complex optical illusion caused by the combination of details of Mars when viewed through a telescope from the Earth's surface. The evil Martians from the "War of the Worlds" never found themselves, and the lifeless photographs of the planet's surface, transmitted by the Mariner 4 probe in 1965, seemed to finally put a sad end to the discussion of the presence of life on Mars.
However, as soon as the first apparatus of the Viking series (Viking-1) reached Mars in 1976, the public realized that in the search for life on Mars, one should not put a dot, but rather an ellipsis.
Contradictory results of experiments on the study of the chemical activity of the soil, drastically changing data of carbon dioxide detection, detection organic molecules dichloromethane and methyl chloride, pictures of the surface with formations that look like dried up riverbeds and, of course, the well-known photographs of the Martian "Sphinx" (as it was proved later, the natural play of light and shadow) blew up the scientific and near-scientific community with renewed vigor, causing a mass discussions and disputes that continue to this day.
The Martian region of Cydonia "The face of the Sphinx" (top right) and "pyramids"
The surface of Mars is hostile to life - low temperatures, aridity, harsh solar radiation and other factors speak rather in favor of the absence of any life on the Red Planet.
On the other hand, there are numerous examples of living organisms capable of surviving in equally harsh conditions on Earth. Life on Earth exists almost everywhere where there is liquid water. Therefore, the very possibility that oceans once existed on Mars forces humanity to continue to search, explore and. Whether it is "", exploring the surface of the "Red Planet" for many years, or "", just set off.
Can Mars support life now? Has he been able to do this in the past? Is there life on Mars? There is still no unequivocal answer to these questions, and this is another great mystery of our cosmic brother.
"Face" on Mars. Snapshot of Viking-1.
Recently, one of the images of the Curiosity rover, which NASA published on its official website, showed a silhouette resembling the figure of a woman. Let's look at other similar cases. 1. Silhouette of a woman
The silhouette of a woman looks very believable, the "ghost" seems to be standing on a stone, demanding attention, - Hey, I'm here! 2 Martian Man
The Curiosity rover photographed the Martian rocks and in this image, a giant crab with ten legs is clearly visible. The discovery excited society and thousands of people turned to NASA with a request to return the apparatus to this rock in order to try to find this alien crustacean there. NASA ignored the request, saying it was the result of peridolia, a feature of the brain that allows people to see familiar shapes in random objects. 10. Flying balls
Hundreds of NASA scientists and engineers continue to oversee the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. High-tech chemical laboratories on wheels daily send information about the planet to Earth, to which it is planned to send the first expedition, which will include people, in a relatively short time.
On this moment the estimated period of active operation of vehicles on the surface of Mars has long expired, however, thanks to the genius of their creators, rovers continue to work for the benefit of mankind to this day, from time to time throwing scientists the most difficult riddles.
While the luminaries of science are trying to find a logical explanation for the mysteries of the fourth planet, conspiracy theorists and ufologists often use the extracted materials to announce evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence.
Opportunity and the Jelly Donut Mystery
The Opportunity rover's workload in 2014 was comparatively insignificant. The reason for this is the long service life of the robot on the surface of Mars, which he touched on January 25, 2004.Then scientists called the effective life of the apparatus 90 sols (Martian days, which last a little longer than the earth), but the successful design of the rover and innovative technologies allow him to collect information so far. It was Opportunity that proved that in the distant past there existed on Mars fresh water that formed the riverbeds.
Opportunity prepares to celebrate its 11th anniversary on Mars
Photo: mars.nasa.gov
During its work on Mars, Opportunity has worn out, some of its equipment has failed, so the rover practically stands still. However, on January 8, 2014, the robot still managed to drive its engineers into a dead end, as well as that part of the Earth's population that follows the research of a neighboring planet.
In the picture sent by the device, right next to the rover, which was not there a few days ago.
A strange stone that scientists discovered in one of the images of Opportunity
Photo: space.com
While geologists and project engineers were trying to figure out the reasons for the appearance of an unknown object near Opportunity, the news had already spread across the Web, giving rise to a heated discussion of the event. Some Internet resources related to ufology immediately tried to explain the appearance of a strange stone as evidence of the presence intelligent life on Mars, as well as convict NASA of hiding evidence.
Steve Squires (lead scientist of the Opportunity project) added fuel to the fire with his joke at one of the presentations, when he said that the discovered stone looked like a "jelly donut". This gave rise to another wave of humor on the Internet, and some managed to take the statement seriously.
After some time, NASA employees were still able to explain the reasons for the appearance of an unknown object near the rover. When the scientists managed to move the car a short distance, the cameras examined the area under it and found nearby rock, from which a small pebble fell off. This most likely happened at the moment when the Opportunity chassis was slipping in an attempt to move the device.
Photo: jpl.nasa.gov
However, scientists were not particularly disappointed, because chemical composition The found stone turned out to be extremely interesting for geologists and made it possible to draw several conclusions about the concentration of substances in the rock of Mars under the influence of water currents.
Curiosity: 28 months on Mars
Like Opportunity, Curiosity's third-generation rover has already crossed its scheduled mission to Mars. At the same time, the device continues its research mission.For two and a half years of work on a neighboring planet, the robot has collected a large amount of information necessary for scientists to ensure the safety of interplanetary flights for the human body, as well as living on the surface of an alien planet.
Recently, The New York Times published a video "28 Months on Mars", dedicated to the work of the rover on the Red Planet. The creators have put together a two-minute video from footage taken by Curiosity himself during his stay on Mars, starting on August 6, 2012. The last picture is dated December 3, 2014, on Sol 827 of the device's operation.
In the course of routine work on the study of the surface of Mars, Curiosity often witnesses mysterious events that baffle NASA scientists.
Strange glow in Curiosity images and the Martian theory
April 3 on the NASA website, on which a strange white spot can be seen with the naked eye, most of all similar to artificial light.The first to notice this was the American ufologist Scott Waring, who hastened to post the photo on his resource. The ufologist claimed that the strange glow, in his opinion, is not a glare of the sun or a graphic artifact in the photograph, hinting opaquely that aliens are involved in the case. Here, Waring accused scientists from NASA that they could "ride" on a rover to the source of a strange glow, but they deliberately slow down research and do not try to find life on Mars.
A mysterious glow in one of the photographs of Curiosity caused a lot of controversy among astronomy lovers.
Photo: NASA
While less radical readers on the Internet joked that the Martians managed to unscrew the "spare tire" from the rover and now they are burning tires over the hill, scientists from the NASA laboratory tried to explain to the public that such artifacts in photographs are not uncommon.
Doug Ellison, who is one of the JPL employees, explained on his Twitter that the appearance of this glow in the picture is caused by cosmic rays. This theory is confirmed by the fact that the artifact is only on the image from the right lens of the Navcam system, while the left "eye" did not fix the anomaly.
Finding the first possible signs of life on Mars
In December 2014, a message appeared on the NASA website that Curiosity experienced a short-term anomalous increase in the concentration of methane in the atmosphere near the probe. For scientists, such data can be the main evidence of the presence of life on Mars, but they are prudently not in a hurry to draw conclusions and continue to analyze the data.The release of methane was recorded twice - in late 2013 and early 2014, at which time the concentration of gas near the rover was ten times higher than normal. Given the fact that almost all microorganisms on our planet produce methane in the course of their life, such a discovery could become sensational and radically change the method of exploration of Mars.
Curiosity's second discovery excited scientists even more. When the robot obtained samples from the rock that received the name of Cumberland and ran them through chemical analysis, were found in the rock organic compounds containing carbon and hydrogen - the main construction material life on our planet.
The researchers were skeptical of such information, since the molecules could have been brought to the surface of Mars by Curiosity itself. It took many months to verify the data, and only now scientists have published the results and confidently stated that organic compounds are of Martian origin.
Hole in the Cumberland rock. It was from it that a rock sample with organic compounds was obtained.
Photo: NASA
Of course, hydrocarbons can exist separately from organic forms, but such a discovery gives scientists great hopes for the discovery of life outside our planet.
Despite the fact that there are still theories in conspiracy circles according to which none of the rovers ever reached the Red Planet, and all the pictures were supposedly taken in the Nevada desert, the crowns of the technical evolution of mankind tirelessly work on an alien planet every day. Little robots are gathering information for those earthlings who are expected to set off on the first manned mission to Mars soon.
