A resurfaced image taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover appears to show a spindly, 'jellyfish'-like object on the surface of Mars, sparking speculation and scepticism among viewers.
Image captured by Curiosity
The black-and-white panorama, taken by the rover's Right Navigation Camera on Sol 3924 (August 20, 2023), shows the 96-mile-wide Gale Crater, an ancient meteor impact crater, with a dark, spindly object visible on the slopes. The photo was taken at 10.27.33pm Earth time, and notably, the object was not present in an image captured less than 10 seconds earlier. It was also the final photo taken that day.
Curiosity, a 1,000kg mobile laboratory designed to analyse Martian soil and rocks, has been exploring Gale Crater since 2012, searching for traces of life in ancient rocks.
Online speculation
Kari Sivertzen, who has been reviewing Curiosity images for months, flagged the image on X last week, insisting it was not Ingenuity, the tiny helicopter that operates with the Perseverance rover in Jezero Crater, about 2,300 miles away.
Jean Ward, a Mars researcher, suggested the 'tripod object' could be a 'potential UFO', adding: 'As always, until we get boots on the ground to see these anomalies up close, I can only speculate as to what these objects might be.'
Other users reacted with comments such as 'What on Mars is that?!' and 'First image of a jellyfish UFO [on] Mars. Great.'
Sceptical explanations
However, sceptics noted that, like previous Martian anomalies—including egg-shaped holes, 'spiders', and a 'crowned face'—the object could be a trick of the light or a case of pareidolia, where the brain perceives familiar patterns in random shapes. Some questioned whether it was an 'artefact', a term space officials use for corrupted pixels or camera glitches.
Nasa has been approached for comment. Sivertzen, who said in June he is digging through Martian probe archives to share anything that 'captures his eye', stated: 'I believe there is life on other planets, and since NASA has found potential traces of life on Mars, it's the perfect place to look.'
