BACK in 1976 when someone at NASA鈥檚 news center in Pasadena decided that
they needed to generate more press interest in the pictures the Viking orbiter
was taking of the Martian surface, they probably didn鈥檛 realise quite what they
were starting.
Leafing through the hundreds of pictures showing yet more Martian craters,
the news centre found one that looked quite exciting. As the accompanying press
release put it: 鈥淭he huge rock formation in the center, which resembles a human
head, is formed by shadows giving the illusion of eyes, nose and mouth.鈥�
Since then 鈥渢he face on Mars鈥� has became a major industry. It has spawned
books with titles such as The Martian Enigmas and The Monuments of
Mars, along with numerous front-page pictures on newspapers around the
world. One company even offers a Mars Face watch, complete 鈥渨ith astronaut and
spaceship rotating to the second鈥�.
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And the face is not apparently alone. Close by, in the part of Mars that
scientists seductively named Cydonia, is a gigantic five-sided pyramid. Much has
been made of its similarity to the Egypt鈥檚 Great Pyramid. Can it be just
coincidence that the word 鈥淐airo鈥� is said to mean Mars? And that the pyramid
appears aligned with other strange objects鈥攍abelled by Cydonia experts as
鈥渢he city鈥� and 鈥渢he dome鈥濃�攊n a way that doesn鈥檛 look quite natural.
Mathematical analysis of the pyramid鈥檚 shape also turns up lots of puzzling
ratios, with many reminiscent of classical architecture as well as e
and pi. Not surprisingly, NASA has been accused of covering up the truth about
the face and of hiding images that would reveal an ancient Martian
civilisation.
But next year, even hardened conspiracy theorists may have to change their
views. NASA now says it is going to survey the area at high resolution and
immediately publish the photographs (see p 5). It is more than likely that this
will end the fun and restore to the face its original NASA label as an 鈥渆roded
mesa-like landform鈥�.
Of course, it would be more exciting if the detailed view really did show an
ancient city. It would do wonders for NASA鈥檚 budget, too. But that鈥檚 a
conspiracy theory of a different kind.
