Has Curiosity actually spotted a pyramid on Mars?

One of the most recent exploits of NASA’s Curiosity rover is locating an alleged pyramid on the surface of the Red Planet. The world first came to know about this special finding through a recently published YouTube video.

The video was posted by Paranormal Crucible on June 20. It showcased Martian landscape captured by the rover’s Mastcam. The subject of the video was alluring enough to get many hits. It has already garnered over a million views. The photo showing the pyramid on the Red Planet was captured by the Mastcam on May 7, 2015.

The photo suggests that the pyramid spotted by the Curiosity rover has an almost perfect shape and design. In addition, experts believe that the object hasn’t been created using a light and shadow trick. According to them, the structure is result of sharp design.

NASA, however, had an absolutely different and of course much simpler explanation for the object spotted in the photo.

According to Dr. Jim Bell, Mastcam investigation program’s deputy principal investigator, the object that Paranormal Crucible video showcases as a pyramid is probably a volcanic rock. Dr. Bell teaches astronomy at the Arizona State University in Tempe.

Dr. Bell added that like several volcanic rocks on the surface of Earth, many on Mars also break and split in very angular and sharp ways. He said that the object tagged as a pyramid appears to be a volcanic rock sliced into a pyramid-shaped entity. Dr. Bell further informed that such cleaving isn’t a very uncommon experience even for the dense, hard volcanic rocks on the Earth’s surface.

The next question that people interested in extraterrestrial activities are asking is how big the rock actually is. Bell informed that after analyzing the rock, the Mastcam team has come to the conclusion that the rock is only around 4 inches tall, which makes it as tall as a regular 8-ounce soda can.

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According to Bell, checking the photo out might be a fun experience, but it definitely not an earth-shattering one.

This statement of Bell clearly shows that he doesn’t want to hurt or offend people who were fascinated by the pyramid story. The same cannot be said about all other skeptics. For instance, a tweet from Martian Soil has tagged people believing this story as “morons”.

About the author

Nitin Agarwal

Nitin has a background in Electrical Engineering and is passionate about the Internet of Things. He covers how connected devices like smart homes, wearables, and industrial IoT are changing our daily lives. Nitin is also a DIY enthusiast and loves to build IoT gadgets.