Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — When a NASA orbiter pointed its camera lens at the surface of Mars, a bear’s face appeared as if it was looking at it.
A camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, called the High-Resolution Imaging Experiment, or HiRISE, captured a picture of the exceptional geological formation last December.
The circular slit pattern on the surface of Mars is the shape of a bear’s head, while two pits are the shape of its eyes.
A circular incision, in the shape of the letter “V”, creates the illusion of a bear’s nose.
The circular fissure may have been caused by sediment above a buried impact crater that had been filled with lava or mud.
The nose-like feature is likely a volcanic vent or mud vent.
The American University of Arizona, which developed the camera in cooperation with Ball Aerospace, the spacecraft manufacturer, shared the image on January 25.
The image recalls another celestial “face” that a NASA space observatory glimpsed in October 2022, when the sun appeared to be smiling due to dark spots called coronal holes.
In March of last year, the Curiosity spacecraft spotted rock formations resembling the shape of Venus on the surface of Mars.
The HiRISE camera has been taking pictures of Mars since 2006, when the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter began orbiting the red planet.
The powerful camera is designed to capture detailed images of the Martian surface, including formations as small as 1 metre.
The vehicle orbits Mars every 112 minutes, flying from about 255 km over the South Pole to 320 km over the North Pole.
The spacecraft and its suite of instruments help NASA scientists study the Martian atmosphere, its weather and climate, and how it has changed over time.
The probe is looking for evidence of water, ice, and complex terrain, as well as exploring future landing sites for other missions.
Recently, the probe captured amazing pictures of what winter looks like on Mars.