Cydonia Mensae

Cydonia Mensae is an albedo feature (region) on the planet Mars (named after a historic city state in Crete). It lies in the planet's northern hemisphere in a transitional zone between the heavily cratered regions to the South, and relatively smooth plains to the North. Some planetologists believe that the northern plains may once have been ocean beds [Head, J.W., Kreslavsky, M., Hiesinger, H., Ivanov, M., Pratt, S., Seibert, N., Smith, D.E. and Zuber, M.T. (1998). [http://www.agu.org/pubs/abs/gl/1998GL900116/1998GL900116.html Oceans in the past history of Mars: Tests for their presence using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data] . "Geophysical Research Letters" 25, 4401-4404.] and that Cydonia may have been a coastal zone (though this is still uncertain). [Malin, M. C. and Edgett, K. S. (1999). [http://www.agu.org/pubs/abs/gl/1999GL002342/1999GL002342.html Oceans or seas in the Martian northern lowlands: High resolution imaging tests of proposed coastlines] . "Geophysical Research Letters" 26, 3049-3052.] Cydonia is covered in numerous mesas, some of which have attracted both scientificCarlotto, M. J. (1988) [http://www.newfrontiersinscience.com/martianenigmas/Papers/AO1888.pdf Digital Imagery Analysis of Unusual Martian Surface Features] . "Applied Optics" 27, 1926-1933.] and popular attention. [cite web | last=Whitehouse | first=D. | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1351319.stm | title=Nasa: No face - honest | publisher=BBC | date=2001-05-25 | accessdate=2007-11-09] [cite web | last=Britt | first=R.R. | url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/22/mars.face/index.html | title=Face on Mars gets makeover | publisher=CNN | date=2006-09-22 | accessdate=2007-11-09]

Face on Mars

[
Mars Global Surveyor image (right). 20 meters per pixel resolution.]

Eighteen images of the Cydonia Mensae region on Mars were taken by the Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters, of which seven have resolutions better than 250 m/pixel (820 ft/pixel). The other eleven images have resolutions worse than 550 m/pixel (1800 ft/pixel) and are virtually useless for studying surface features. Of the seven good images, the lighting and time at which two pairs of images were taken are so close as to reduce the number to five distinct images. The "Mission to Mars: Viking Orbiter Images of Mars" CD-ROM image numbers for these are: 35A72 (VO-1010), 70A13 (VO-1011), 561A25 (VO-1021), 673B56 & 673B54 (VO-1063), and 753A33 & 753A34 (VO-1028). [ [http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/Admin/resources/cd_viking.html "Mission to Mars: Viking Orbiter Images of Mars" website] , NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; raw data in IMQ (ImageQ) format can be downloaded from these links: [http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/geo/vo1_vo2-m-vis-2-edr-v2/vo_1010/f035axx/f035a72.imq 35A72] , [http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/geo/vo1_vo2-m-vis-2-edr-v2/vo_1011/f070axx/f070a13.imq 70A13] , [http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/geo/vo1_vo2-m-vis-2-edr-v2/vo_1021/f561axx/f561a25.imq 561A25] , [http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/geo/vo1_vo2-m-vis-2-edr-v2/vo_1063/f673bxx/f673b56.imq 673B56] , [http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/geo/vo1_vo2-m-vis-2-edr-v2/vo_1063/f673bxx/f673b54.imq 673B54] , [http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/geo/vo1_vo2-m-vis-2-edr-v2/vo_1028/f753axx/f753a33.imq 753A33] , [http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/geo/vo1_vo2-m-vis-2-edr-v2/vo_1028/f753axx/f753a34.imq 753A34] . Retrieved on 20 September 2007.]

In one of the images taken by Viking 1 on July 25 1976, one of the Cydonian mesas, situated at 40.75° north latitude and 9.46° west longitude, [cite web | url=http://www.planetary.org/news/2007/0317_The_Empire_Strikes_Back_Europes_First.html | title=The Empire Strikes Back: Europe's First Trip to Mars Brings Home "The Gold" | publisher=Planetary Society | last=Rayl | first=A.J.S. | date=2007-03-16 | accessdate=2008-06-05] had the appearance of a humanoid "Face on Mars". When the image was originally acquired, Viking chief scientist Gerry Soffen dismissed the "face" in image 35A72 [cite web | last=Viking News Center | url=http://www.msss.com/education/facepage/pio.html | title=Caption of JPL Viking Press Release P-17384 (35A72) | publisher=NASA | date=1976-07-31 | accessdate=2008-05-01] as a " [trick] of light and shadow". [cite book
last = Hoagland | first = Richard | authorlink = Richard C. Hoagland | title = The Monuments of Mars — A City on the Edge of Forever | edition = 4th edition | publisher = Frog Books | year = 1996 | pages = pg. 5 | language = English | isbn = 1883319307 ] [cite web | url=http://www.paranormalnews.com/article.asp?articleID=21 | title=Pixel Inversion - NASA's Misinformation on the Mars Face | publisher=Paranormal News | date=1999-08-25 | accessdate=2008-05-29] However, a second image, 70A13, also shows the "Face" and was acquired 35 Viking orbits later at a different "sun-angle" than the 35A72 image. This latter discovery was made independently by two computer engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Vincent DiPietro and Gregory Molenaar,cite journal | last=Gardner | first=M. | year=1985 | title=The Great Stone Face and Other Nonmysteries | journal=Skeptical Inquirer | volume=10 | pages=14-18 | url=http://www.csicop.org/si/8512/face-on-mars.html ] who discovered the two misfiled images, Viking frames 35A72 and 70A13, while searching through NASA archives.

The occurrence of an object on Mars with a seemingly human face caught the attention of individuals and organisations interested in extraterrestrial intelligence and visitations to Earth, and the images were published in this context in 1977. [cite journal | last=Smukler | first=H. | title=Dramatic Photos of Mars: the Home of the Gods | journal=Ancient Astronauts | year=1977 | issue=January | pages=26] [cite book | editor=Richard Grossinger |title=Planetary Mysteries: Megaliths, Glaciers, the Face on Mars and Aboriginal Dreamtime |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_hR3b8VXE0wC |accessdate=2008-08-12 |year=1986 |publisher=North Atlantic Books |location=Berkeley, California, USA |isbn=0938190903 |pages=11] Some commentators, most notably Richard Hoagland, believe the "Face" to be evidence of a long-lost Martian civilization along with other features they believe are present, such as apparent pyramids, which they argue are part of a ruined city. Image analysis of the original Viking images led a few researchers to suggest that the features of the "Face" might not be an accidental consequence of viewing conditions.

More than 20 years after the Viking 1 images were taken, a succession of spacecraft visited Mars and collected new data from the Cydonia region. These spacecraft have included NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (1997-2006)cite web | url=http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMINCO7BTE_0.html | title=Cydonia's 'Face on Mars' in 3D animation using Mars Global Surveyor imagery | publisher=ESA website | date=2006-10-23 | accessdate=2007-04-26] and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2006-), [cite web | url=http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/diafotizo.php?ID=PSP_003234_2210 | title=Popular Landform in Cydonia Region | publisher=HiRISE website | accessdate=2007-04-26] and the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe (2003-). [cite web | url=http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM09F8LURE_index_0.html | title=Cydonia - the face on Mars, 3D rendering of Mars Express imagery | publisher=ESA website | date=2006-09-21 | accessdate=2007-04-26] In contrast to the relatively low resolution of the Viking images of Cydonia, these new platforms afford much improved resolution. For instance, the Mars Express images are at a resolution of 14 m/pixel (46 ft/pixel) or better. By combining data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on the Mars Express probe and the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on board NASA's Mars Global Surveyor it has been possible to create a 3D representation of the "Face on Mars".

Today, the "Face" is generally accepted to be an optical illusion, an example of pareidolia. [cite web | last=Britt | first=R.R. | url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/03/17/alien.debunk/index.html | title=Scientist attacks alien claims on Mars | publisher=CNN | date=2004-03-18 | accessdate=2007-10-12] After analysis of the higher resolution Mars Global Surveyor data NASA stated that "a detailed analysis of multiple images of this feature reveals a natural looking Martian hill whose illusory face-like appearance depends on the viewing angle and angle of illumination". [cite web | url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_60.html | title=The Face on Mars, Viking Project | publisher= NASA website | accessdate=2007-04-26] Similar optical illusions can be found in the geology of Earth [cite web | last = Dunning | first = B. | title = The Face on Mars Revealed | work = Skeptoid #97 | date = 2008-04-22 | url = http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4097 | accessdate = 2008-08-26] ; examples include the Old Man of the Mountain and the Badlands Guardian, which resembles a human head wearing a Native American headdress. [cite web | url=http://maps.google.com/maps?z=16&ll=50.010083,-110.113006&spn=0.009363,0.020084&t=k&iwloc=addr | title=Badlands Guardian Geological Feature | publisher=Google Maps | accessdate=2007-04-26]

Aside from speculation concerning their artificial origins, Cydonia and the "Face on Mars" also appear frequently in popular culture, including feature films, television series, videogames, comic books, and even music. [For example: Film - "Mission to Mars" (2000); TV series - "The X-Files" ("Space", 1993), "Futurama" ("Where The Buggalo Roam", 2002); Videogames - "Zak McKracken" (1988), "" (1993); Comic books - "Martian Manhunter" #1 (1998); Music - "Telemetry of a Fallen Angel" by The Crüxshadows (1995), "Knights of Cydonia" by Muse (2006).] Astronomer Carl Sagan criticized much of the speculation about the "Face" in an eponymous chapter of his book "The Demon-Haunted World".cite book | last=Sagan | first=Carl | authorlink=Carl Sagan | title= | year=1996 | publisher=Random House | language=English | isbn=0-394-53512-X]

See also

* Galle, a Martian crater also known as the "Happy face" or "Smile" of Mars.
* Life on Mars

References

External links

Astronomy

* [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/viking.html Viking Project] , NASA
* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/viking/index.html 30th Anniversary of Viking] , NASA
* [http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Mars_Express/index.html Mars Express] , ESA ( [http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/express/ NASA page] )
* [http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/ Mars Global Surveyor] , NASA
* [http://www.geoinf.fu-berlin.de/eng/projects/mars/hrsc300-Cydonia.php High-resolution images of Cydonia] , Mars Express orbiter
* [http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060925.html Astronomy Picture of the Day 25-9-06] , recent visual of the Face on Mars
* [http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060926.html Astronomy Picture of the Day 26-9-06] , recent visual of the Cydonia region (including the Face on Mars)
* [http://www.msss.com/education/facepage/face_discussion.html Discussion of MOC and "Face on Mars"] , Malin Space Science Systems (also, [http://www.msss.com/education/facepage/face.html Face on Mars] )
* [http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=40.757660&lon=-9.492187&zoom=9&
] at Google Mars
* [http://www.keithlaney.net/ Independently processed Cydonia Images]
* [http://www.marsquestonline.org/coolstuff/faceonmars/faceonmars.html Interactive 3D "Face on Mars"] , Shockwave piece at [http://www.marsquestonline.org MarsQuest Online] .

"Face on Mars" as artifact

* [http://www.enterprisemission.com The Enterprise Mission] , Hoagland's official website
* [http://www.thehiddenrecords.com/mars.htm "The Hidden Records"] , official website of a book by Wayne Herschel
* [http://www.skepdic.com/faceonmars.html Face on Mars] , entry in the "Skeptic's Dictionary"
* [http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/hoagland/ Hoagland debunking at Bad Astronomy] , a discussion of the science and pseudoscience of Cydonia
* [http://www.geody.com/geolook.php?world=mars&lat=41.347994&lon=-9.238214 The exact position of the Face on Mars on Geody, linked to NASA World Wind]