A strange formation photographed on the Martian surface has reignited speculation about extraterrestrial life on the Red Planet. The image, originally captured by NASA's Opportunity rover in 2014, recently resurfaced on social media with users claiming the object resembles an "alien gun."
Scott C. Waring, a researcher from 'UFO Sighting Daily,' suggested the object is evidence of why NASA sent a rover to Mars, stating it was proof that the agency sought to retrieve alien technology. Waring shared on X, formerly Twitter, that "Alien gun on Mars photos, only one still exists, others deleted by NASA."
The image was first circulated by Waring in 2016, who claimed the supposed weapon was approximately one foot long. He identified its location on Mars as SOL 3773, situated between Mt. Edgecumbe and Wdowiak Ridge.
NASA's Opportunity rover landed on Mars on January 25, 2004. It operated for over 14 years before falling silent in June 2018 during a severe planet-wide dust storm. NASA officially declared the mission complete in February 2019 after failing to re-establish contact.
However, UFO researchers' claims are often attributed to pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon where individuals perceive familiar patterns, such as faces or objects, in random or ambiguous stimuli. Many online commenters expressed skepticism, with one X user suggesting it was likely a rock, and another humorously questioning why aliens would design guns for human hands.
Waring has a history of identifying unusually shaped rocks on Mars as extraterrestrial artifacts. In 2016, he claimed to have found a "lone shoe" on the edge of a crater, suggesting it was evidence of an ancient Martian species that had been at war. The original photo for this claim was taken in 2013, and the alleged shoe was spotted in August 2016.
This latest claim mirrors previous instances where natural Martian geological formations have been interpreted as artificial objects, a phenomenon often explained by the subjective nature of pareidolia and the unique lighting and environmental conditions on Mars.