Initially DiPietro and his partner Molenaar called for further investigation of the 2.5km wide Face and the apparently vast pyramid-like structure – approximately 500m high and nearly 3km long – on frame 70A13 nearby, later termed the D&M pyramid after its discoverers. Looking for further information on the geological explanation and analysis of the feature, he found nothing. DiPietro had become intrigued with Viking frame 35A72 labeled “Head” filed in the archive. The Face was rediscovered in 1979 by Vincent DiPietro and Gregory Molenaar, computer engineers under contract at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland. Project scientists claimed that later images of Cydonia revealed nothing. These names are used solely for research purposes and do not ascribe any function to the objects under investigation.ĭiscovered by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) personnel in July 1976, the Face was originally dismissed as a “trick of light and shadow” when shown to journalists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The DiPietro and Molenaar (D&M) pyramid and City are also terms frequently used when nearby landforms are described. The most obvious formation was termed the Face because of its similarity to one. Those studying the Cydonia region have identified a number of objects which appear to share certain architectural, artistic and archaeological characteristics not intrinsic to geomorphological formations.

When the technique was tested on Viking imagery, the results suggested certain features were strongly non-fractal, and thus by implication, non-natural. they stand out by having a different mathematical signature from the background terrain). Fractal analysis highlights any possibly artificial objects due to their non-fractal nature (i.e. New interpretative tools like fractal analysis, used to determine the probabilities of non-natural features occurring in a landscape, have also been brought to bear. Similar techniques – shape-from-shading (computerized 3-D image generation from shadow depth) and stereoscopic imaging (generated by overlaying two images of the same area taken from slightly different perspectives) – have also been applied to Cydonia. This kind of research is the province of planetary geologists and geomorphologists. The heights of volcanoes and depths of canyons can also be shown in startling detail in computer flyby simulations. The width of ancient valleys can be gauged from 3- dimensional maps (generated from originally 2-D images) and the volume of flood waters which once occupied them estimated. Ejecta blankets, comprised of material thrown out by meteorite impacts – and with icy flows surrounding their craters – hint at locations with ice or permafrost beneath. Photographic interpretation plays a key role in generating hypotheses concerning Mars’s past evolutionary history. Water and oxygen may have existed in the area abundantly over one billion years ago. Certainly if the Cydonia remains are artificial, proximity to water would be expected. There has been speculation that the features at Cydonia lie on the edge of this ancient northern sea. An ocean may have occupied most of the northern hemisphere. Eroded river channels, evidence of glaciation and perhaps even ancient lake and sea beds have all been seen in Viking images. There is ample evidence that the Martian climate was in the past more benign than today. Scientists continue to analyse these pictures, inferring details of geological, climatological and – most controversially – biological evolution from them. Most of the planet has now been mapped to a resolution of 100m, and, in some places, 10m. Whilst soil chemistry tests were ambiguous, more than 50,000 digital images of Martian geomorphology were returned from orbit. Twin orbiters and landers investigated the geology, chemistry, meteorology and possible biology of the Red planet. Mankind’s last wholly successful voyage to Mars was NASA’s robotic Viking mission in 1976. Research conducted by a small group of scientists in America since 1979 has suggested a most exciting possibility – the remains of artificially designed structures. But at latitude 41 degrees North, longitude 9 West lie a collection of features which some observers believe are anything but natural. What is so unique about Cydonia? Geologically it is a mixture of fractured, desert plains containing numerous mesas (flat-topped eroded prominences) with varied craters typical of natural landforms throughout the solar system. Daniel Woolman” Ph.D, in an epic-length post on the “In Search Of” mailing list. What’s So Unique About Cydonia? (The Face on Mars)īy “R.

Explanation of the face of mars