leave about theface on Marsor itspyramid ! The most evocative thing yet discovered on the airfoil of the Red Planet isthe Starfleet emblemfrom the fictitious universe ofStar Trek . And given how these phenomena on Mars are always seen by some as the artefact of an foreign civilisation , we ’ll probably start seeing conspiracy theory video recording about how Martians areStar Trekfans come out online .
cave in that the formation is neither alien - made nor a genius marketing stratagem , rent ’s talk science . The chevron shape and many other standardised Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe are observe in Hellas Planitia , the plain place in the immense orbitual crater in the southern cerebral hemisphere of Mars .
The shaping of the allegory was potential thanks to three central elements : sand , lava , and wind . fundamentally , we are looking at the imprint of ancient Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin dunes . Planetary scientists conceive that these dunes are similar to thebarchandunes found on Earth . They are crescent - shaped and are go by the steer .
Enter , lava .
Long ago , Mars was volcanically active and investigator think that as lava flowed over the basin floor it encountered these dune . It could n’t go over them , so it moved around them . In doing so , it marked their position and when the wind slowly move them , an impression of their original shape remained .
Star Trekhas probably played a role in the lifetime of many people involve in astronomy so it ’s perhaps unsurprising that the chevron formation remind them of the allegory . Star Trekcharacters have even been immortalized by the names of features on Charon , Pluto ’s largest moon . In a region called Vulcan Planum , name after the planet inStar Trek , you’re able to find the Kirk crater , the Spock crater , the Uhura Crater , and the Sulu crater , all name after character from the original serial publication .
The movie was taken by the HiRISE instrument onboard theMars Reconnaissance Orbiter . The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars for almost 14 years and has examine and photographed the Red Planet in dainty point . This is just the latest in a long catalog of excellent exposure .
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ’s deputation continue to boldly see what no one has seen before ( at least , not at that level of detail ) .
