When a NASA spacecraft turned its camera to the surface of Mars, it was possible to observe the face of a bear.
A camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, called the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE), captured an image of the unusual geological feature in December.
A circular fracture pattern on the Martian surface shapes the head, while two craters resemble eyes. A V-shaped collapse structure creates the illusion of a bear’s nose.
The circular fracture can be explained due to the settling of a deposit on top of a buried impact crater, which was filled with lava or mud. The nose-like feature is possibly a volcanic vent or a mud vent.
The University of Arizona, which developed the camera with Ball Aerospace, shared the image on Jan.
The photo resembles another celestial “face” glimpsed by a NASA space observatory in October 2022, when the sun appeared to smile due to dark spots called coronal holes.
The HiRISE camera has been imaging Mars since 2006, when the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter began orbiting the red planet. The camera is designed to capture detailed images of the Martian surface, including features as small as 3 feet (one meter equivalent).
The NASA spacecraft orbits Mars every 112 minutes, flying from about 255 kilometers above the south pole to 320 kilometers over the north pole.
The spacecraft and its suite of instruments help NASA scientists study the Martian atmosphere, weather and climate, and how they change over time, looking for evidence of water, ice and complex terrain.
Source: CNN Brasil
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