Scientists at the University of Arizona have captured an image of Mars’ surface resembling the shape of a bear.
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This is thanks to the powerful HiRISE camera located on the satellite Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter this image was captured.
US planetary geologist Alfred McEwen says in a statement that all of the elements in this photo can be rationally explained.
“There’s a hill with a collapsed structure that forms the nose, two craters that form the eyes, and a circular crevasse completes the head shape,” he explains.
He goes on to believe that the crevasse might be due to “the accumulation of a deposit on a buried crater”.
“Perhaps the nose is a volcanic vent and the deposit might be lava or a mud slurry,” he continues.
The HiRISE camera is the most powerful ever sent to photograph a planet and is one of six instruments located on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The data collected by the University of Arizona with the help of this device has enabled the publication of several hundred studies.
