A rectangular object found jutting out of Mars's surface and caught on camera by the University of Arizona has caused speculation over the nature of the "monolith" and its origins.
Published: 9:45AM BST 06 Aug 2009
NASA handout photo showing a rectangular object found jutting out of Mars's surface.
Scientists at the university, who captured the image from a powerful camera on board an orbiting satellite, insist that the structure is a normal, if striking, natural phenomenon.
But sci-fi fans are said to be drawing parallels with the mysterious monoliths used to mark a change in human evolution in Stanley Kubrick's classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The latest image was taken as part of the University of Arizona's HiRise (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) project. The camera is able to take high-resolution images of Mars's surface from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
In Kubrick's adaptation of Arthur C Clarke's novel, the origins of the monoliths are never fully explained.
The University of Arizona has no such problems with their structure.
Alfred McEwen, professor of planetary science at the university and HiRise's principal investigator, said: "Layering from rock deposition combined with tectonic fractures creates right-angle planes of weakness such that rectangular blocks tend to weather out and separate from the bedrock."
He added: "It is not that unusual. There are lots of rectangular structures on Mars.
"It is striking when you see one that is isolated, but they are common."
Veteran astronaut Buzz Aldrin recently stoked space conspiracy theory further by announcing that a similar "monolith" had been detected on Mars's moon Phobos.
Calling for money to be pumped into space exploration, Mr Aldrin - the second man to walk on the moon - told US network C-Span that scientists should focus on Mars's moon: "There is a monolith there, a very unusual structure on this little potato-shaped object that goes around Mars once every seven hours.
"When people find out about that, they are going to say 'who put that there?'. Well, the universe put it there, or if you choose, God put it there."
NASA handout photo showing a rectangular object found jutting out of Mars's surface.
Scientists at the university, who captured the image from a powerful camera on board an orbiting satellite, insist that the structure is a normal, if striking, natural phenomenon.
But sci-fi fans are said to be drawing parallels with the mysterious monoliths used to mark a change in human evolution in Stanley Kubrick's classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The latest image was taken as part of the University of Arizona's HiRise (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) project. The camera is able to take high-resolution images of Mars's surface from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
In Kubrick's adaptation of Arthur C Clarke's novel, the origins of the monoliths are never fully explained.
The University of Arizona has no such problems with their structure.
Alfred McEwen, professor of planetary science at the university and HiRise's principal investigator, said: "Layering from rock deposition combined with tectonic fractures creates right-angle planes of weakness such that rectangular blocks tend to weather out and separate from the bedrock."
He added: "It is not that unusual. There are lots of rectangular structures on Mars.
"It is striking when you see one that is isolated, but they are common."
Veteran astronaut Buzz Aldrin recently stoked space conspiracy theory further by announcing that a similar "monolith" had been detected on Mars's moon Phobos.
Calling for money to be pumped into space exploration, Mr Aldrin - the second man to walk on the moon - told US network C-Span that scientists should focus on Mars's moon: "There is a monolith there, a very unusual structure on this little potato-shaped object that goes around Mars once every seven hours.
"When people find out about that, they are going to say 'who put that there?'. Well, the universe put it there, or if you choose, God put it there."
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