Picture this: a horde of Martian monsters descending upon Earth, ready to conquer our planet. This scenario is reminiscent of classic sci-fi films, isn’t it? These days, with all our fancy tech and know-how, even the most imaginative writers have moved on from that tired trope. Is it plausible that intelligent entities could be our neighbours on Mars? It’s just too far-fetched, even for fiction. However, as our understanding of the cosmos expands, our intelligence continues to question our previously held beliefs. Could it be that what we’ve always believed isn’t quite right?
Back in 1976, NASA sent Viking Orbiter 1 to scope out Mars. Its mission? Snap some pics of the planet’s surface and scout a spot for Viking Lander 2 to touch down later. While sifting through the shots, researchers stumbled across something wild in the Cydonia region: a mile-wide hill that looked eerily like a human face. NASA dismissed it as a mere coincidence of light and shadow, naming it the “Mars Face” and disseminating it to the global community. But not everyone bought that explanation. Some die-hard fans pored over the images and swore those formations weren’t natural—some even claimed the “face” was proof of alien architects, with nearby triangular hills looking suspiciously like pyramids.
Fast forward to 1998 and 2001, when the Mars Global Surveyor swung by Cydonia for another look. Its sharper photos made the “Mars Face” and those odd shapes seem a lot less mysterious—more like plain old rocks. Still, the enthusiasts weren’t ready to let go. They squinted at the new pics and insisted they showed a sprawling city trapped under a massive glacier. NASA, unfazed, promised to keep mapping the area until the debate’s settled. Even former NASA bigwig Dan Goldin chimed in, pledging to study Cydonia until everyone is convinced one way or the other.
The search for Martian life has also yielded other surprising discoveries. Take this one: in 1984, a chunk of Mars landed in Antarctica as a meteorite. When NASA eggheads cracked it open, they found clues that tiny bacteria might’ve once called Mars home. Inside were hydrocarbons—stuff dead microbes leave behind—along with mineral patterns tied to bacterial handiwork and wee carbonate blobs that could be fossilized bugs. NASA’s take? Put all that together, and it’s a pretty solid hint that microscopic life might’ve thrived there.
Then there’s the Pathfinder mission. In July 1997, it plopped down in Mars’ Ares Vallis and started snapping pics and taking measurements. Some of those shots hinted at chlorophyll—a green, sunlight-loving substance plants use here on Earth—lurking in the soil near the landing site. If that’s accurate, it’s a clear indication that life may exist beyond our minuscule blue dot.
However, water is essential for life, and Mars has long been perceived as a barren, icy wasteland. But hold up—recent research suggests the surface might just be a crust hiding a permafrost layer underneath. Scientists from NASA and Russia have peeked at Earth’s permafrost critters and reckon similar beasties could be hiding out on Mars. Others who’ve studied the Red Planet’s terrain say it looks a lot like Earth’s old riverbeds, lake bottoms, and ocean floors—hinting that water once flowed freely there.
Even President George Bush got on board with the Mars hype. His budgets always carved out cash for space exploration, especially Martian missions. He once mused that “habitable worlds” might not be as rare as we thought, and he funnelled $3 billion into Project Prometheus to dig deeper into our solar system. That kind of dough could turbocharge Mars research. Every new discovery raises more questions, suggesting that a manned mission may be necessary to finally solve the Martian riddle.