A recent panorama captured by NASA's Curiosity rover in Mars' Gale Crater has ignited theories of a lost civilization, with some observers pointing to a distant formation they claim resembles a structure with a doorway.
Scott C. Waring of UFO Sightings Daily, a proponent of extraterrestrial discoveries, suggested the feature appears to be constructed from a clay-like material common on Mars. "What looks like cut boulders is actually clay-type walls and an entrance way made by intelligent beings who needed protection from the elements," Waring stated, drawing parallels to ancient human dwellings.
NASA has not officially commented on these latest claims. However, the agency previously addressed similar speculation in 2022 when Curiosity photographed a feature resembling a doorway. At that time, NASA explained that the mound, located on Mount Sharp, exhibited naturally occurring fractures, one of which was approximately 12 inches tall and 16 inches wide, comparable in size to a dog door. The agency stated that such fractures are common in bedrock on both Earth and Mars.
NASA has consistently maintained that it has no evidence of extraterrestrial life and has not yet found any signs of current or past life on Mars. While Waring is convinced of the artificial nature of the new formation, other social media users have offered alternative explanations, suggesting it is simply a rock formation or a shadow.
This is not the first time unusual Martian rock formations have captured public attention. Waring has previously identified other formations as potentially artificial. In 2014, an image from the Opportunity rover showed a strangely shaped rock that Waring claimed was an "alien gun." NASA's Opportunity rover, which landed on Mars in 2004, ceased communication in June 2018 during a planet-wide dust storm and its mission was officially declared complete in February 2019.
