A photograph showing a 'bone' lying amid the rubble on Mars has gone viral on social media with many claiming it to be a human femur bone. The 'discovery' of the bone was made by astrophysicist Antonio Paris. However, it appears that the theory had been debunked by NASA almost six years earlier.
The photograph taken by NASA's Curiosity Rover's MastCam in 2014 has resurfaced again on social media after many claimed to have discovered 'human bone' on the red planet.
The Truth Behind the Viral Photograph
The image was taken by Curiosity Rover's MastCam on August 14, 2014. At the time, the image had led the conspiracy theorists to claim that the red planet had hosted life once. This widespread claim forced NASA to debunk the theory, stating that the alleged piece of human bone was in fact a piece of rock.
"Seen by Mars rover Curiosity using its MastCam, this Mars rock may look like a femur thigh bone. Mission science team members think its shape is likely sculpted by erosion, either wind or water. If life ever existed on Mars, scientists expect that it would be small simple life forms called microbes. Mars likely never had enough oxygen in its atmosphere and elsewhere to support more complex organisms. Thus, large fossils are not likely," wrote a NASA spokesperson on its website.
It is not for the first time that Earthlings have claimed to have found evidence of life on Mars based on photographs clicked by the various missions sent to the red planet. The most famous among them are Mars Bigfoot, the Mars cannonball, the Mars spoon, the Mars warrior woman and the Mars "Assyrian god".
In its report, Science Alert called the phenomena pareidolia, which occurs when some parts of the brain process visual information and jump to conclusions before the rest of the brain catches up.
Twitter Abuzz With New Claims
However, the theory of human bone on Mars started again after astrophysicist Antonio Paris shared it on the microblogging site on Sunday. "Bones on #Mars? NASA: "Just rocks ...," he wrote.
Moments after that, Twitter kicked up a storm with many believing it to be true while others debunked the claim. "Mars may not have had advanced life, but aliens could have landed there," wrote a user.
"Looks like a bunch of spacecraft debris with aliens remains...... hmmmmmmmm. very interesting," tweeted another.
However, Paris clarified that his earlier tweet was meant as a joke. "I post a joke about a bone on #Mars and the world took it seriously. Come on people ... stop drinking whiskey so early in the morning," he clarified.
