The Curiosity rover, sent by American space agency NASA to explore the Gale crater or Mars, has found some strange rock formation on the Red Planet. The strange, twisting structures are seen poking out of the surface of Mars in the high resolution image sent by the rover to the base station.
The SETI Institute, a not-for-profit research organisation focused on searching for life in the Universe, highlighted the image in a tweet last week, calling it a "cool rock". NASA too posted the raw image on its website.
"The spikes are most likely the cemented fillings of ancient fractures in a sedimentary rock. The rest of the rock was made of softer material and was eroded away," the institute further said in the tweet, offering an explanation for the shapes.
Structures like these are also found in some places on Earth. Geologists believe that these tall and thin spires are formed by erosional process. Hoodoos are structures where hard rock is situated on top of soft rock.
Hoodoos are called by many names, such as fairy chimneys, earth pyramids and tent rocks. They are found in Utah's Bryce Canyon, the Colorado Plateau or the Tokushima Prefecture in Japan.
NASA is interested in such discoveries, which are expected to reveal more information about the Gale crater's history.
The photo of the "spikes" was taken by a camera onboard the Curiosity rover on May 15, according to Vice News, just a week it found an unusual structure in the rocks that looked like a neatly carved out doorway nestled on the Red Planet. Many internet users were puzzled by the photograph, claiming it to be a hidden alien entrance.
The image was captured by the Curiosity rover at a geological feature known as Greenheugh Pediment on May 7 and shared on Reddit by NASA.
Media outlets like Independent said that the strange rock formation could be the product of a natural stress fracture caused by a seismic activity.
NASA's Curiosity rover has been in the Gale Crater on Mars since November 2011.
