The Face on Mars

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In July,1976, Viking Orbiter 1 was acquiring images of the Cydonia region of Mars as part of the search for potential landing sites for Viking Lander 2.On July 25,1976, it photographed a region of buttes and mesas along the escarpment that separates heavily cratered highlands to the south from low lying, relatively crater-free, lowland plains to the north. Among the hills was one that, to the investigators scrutinizing the images for likely landing sites, resembled a face. Owing to the importance of the landing site search, and with a desire to provide the public with at least one familiar-looking landform amid the craters and exotic terrains found all over Mars, an image including the face-like hill was released as part of the Jet Propulsions Laboratory's public relation effort.

Malin Space Science Systems

*click to enlarge original 1976 Viking photo

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A close look at the "eye" as shown in the new
Mars Global Surveyor Face
photograph reveals the alleged "pupil" (more accurately, the "iris" or
"cornea," if this is an artificial edifice) to be a "squashed" pyramid
with its two primary facets aligned roughly with the "City" complex. While
this structure deviates from the perfect circle expected by some, it is
nonetheless an intriguing find difficult to reconcile with geological
processes, such as volcanic venting and meteor impact.

(If the "eye"depression is the eroded vestige of a crater, as suggested by some, then
it's extremely unlikely that an elevated, clearly defined feature would
exist in the center. It's my personal opinion that known geological
processes could not have conspired to produce the Face's "eye.")

by Mac Tonnies

http://www.geocities.com/macbot/cydonia.html

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