Europe Space Probe Unmasks 'Face' on Mars

This image provided by the European Space Agency Thursday Sept. 21, 2006 shows a perspective view of the so-called 'Face on Mars' located in the Cydonia region. The massif became famous as the 'Face on Mars' in a photo taken on 25 July 1976 by the American Viking 1 Orbiter. Image recorded during orbits 3253 and 1216 by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express. Image is based on data gathered over the Cydonia region, with a ground resolution of approximately 13.7 metres per pixel. (AP Photo/ESA) (AP)

BERLIN -- For decades, photos of what appeared to be a huge, face-shaped rock formation on Mars _ or even a statue of Elvis _ fueled theories of intelligent life on the Red Planet.

But high-resolution stereo cameras from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter have debunked that myth with the clearest pictures yet of the region where the so-called face was found, ESA has said.

"The face remains a figment of human imagination in a heavily eroded surface," the agency said in a statement.

According to Michael McKay, an ESA engineer on the team that sent Mars Express into orbit, the new photos are so much sharper that they reveal that the area on a 1976 photograph by NASA's Viking 1 orbiter is one of many such raised surfaces in the greater Cydonia region.

In 1998 and 2001, new, sharper pictures of the region were taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and revealed simply a rugged landform. But that didn't halt public speculation.

"People automatically thought, 'My goodness, it's a face. There must be intelligent life on Mars. Maybe the Martians built this huge monument to indicate that there is intelligent life and we should come and visit,'" McKay said. "Other people squinting their eyes looked at it and thought Elvis, The King, is alive and on Mars."

The so-called Martian mesas are still interesting for planetary geologists. McKay said the photos can help analyze the geological processes that were at work to create the Cydonia region.

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On the Net:

European Space Agency: http://www.esa.int

NASA: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast24may_1.htm