On July 25th, a NASA scientist was studying images of a region of Mars called « Cydonia » when something caught his eye. He had to take a second to process what he was seeing. He grabbed a magnifying glass.
There was no doubt. On the surface of Mars, 140 million miles from Earth, was a structure in the shape of a human face. It was huge; about a mile wide; and showed two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Around the Face were pyramids and structures that didn’t look natural. They look like they were built… by someone.
The following day, NASA held a press conference. Of the thousands of photos sent back from Mars, all anyone asked about was The Face. Who built it and why? Is it a message from an advanced civilization now long extinct? Is it a religious artifact? Is it solid like the Great Sphinx? Or could it contain chambers like the Great Pyramid?
Then NASA threw cold water on the speculation. They said there was a second photograph of the area taken shortly after. And that photo showed that the face was nothing more than an optical illusion.