Paris: The European Space Agency's (ESA's) Mars Express has obtained detailed images of the Cydonia region, site of the famous 'Face on Mars', and concluded that it is a naturally formed hill on the surface of the Red Planet.
The 'Face on Mars' first intrigued scientists when NASA found evidence of it, way back in 1976. It then termed the image as an optical illusion caused by the illumination angle of the Sun, the formation's surface morphology and the resulting shadows, which gave the impression of eyes, nose and mouth.
Dr Agustin Chicarro, ESA's chief scientist for Mars Express said the images had shown the 'Face on Mars' was a hill, in fact a natural feature shaped by erosion.
Earlier attempts to image the Cydonia region from April 2004 until July 2006 were disturbed by altitude and atmospheric dust and haze.
Finally, on June 22, the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board Mars Express obtained a series of images that show the famous 'face' on Mars in unprecedented detail.
"These images of the Cydonia region on Mars are truly spectacular. They not only provide a completely fresh and detailed view of an area famous to fans of space myths worldwide, but also provide an impressive close-up over an area of great interest for planetary geologists, and show once more the high capability of the Mars Express camera," Dr Chicarro added.
The data were gathered during orbit 3253 over the Cydonia region, with a ground resolution of approximately 13.7 metres per pixel.
Cydonia lies at approximately 40.75 degrees North and 350.54 degrees East and is located in the Arabia Terra region on Mars.
It belongs to the transition zone between the southern highlands and the northern plains of Mars. The transition zone is characterised by wide, debris-filled valleys and isolated remnant mounds of various shapes and sizes.
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