Is the "Face on Mars" a natural formation, or was it the work of something else? Discovered by the Viking mission in 1976, and reimaged by the Mars Global Surveyor, the controversy continues on whether the Face is a geologic landform or an artificial structure.

The "Face" is approximately one mile long, is very symmetrical, and according to some, clearly has eye sockets and a hortizonal line resembling a "mouth". Lying in the same region of Cydonia are other landforms that many have argued also resemble artificial structures, such as a five-sided pyramid and "city block"-like terrain.

Discovery of the "Face"
On July 25, 1976, the Viking 1 orbiter was taking pictures of the Cydonia region of Mars as part of the landing site search for the Viking 2 lander, which had been targeted to land on Cydonia, due to its relatively flat terrain. Among the series of buttes, hills, and mesas found in the images was something that startlingly looked like a human face.

Shortly after its discovery, NASA released the first image, discussing it at a press conference. During the briefing, Viking project leader Gerald Soffen announced that a second frame had been taken of the exact same region "a few hours later" in which the impression of a face "went away".

This statement was later proved to be false. Thus began, what some argue, is over thirty years of official deception from NASA and claims that the face is nothing but a mere pile of rocks and scientifically uninteresting.

The Meaning of the "Face"
Some argue that even if NASA is capable of lying about this topic, why would they? Wouldn't they embrace the name of apparent otherworldly intelligence as true explorers? To some, the answers to these questions are almost as intriguing and mysterious as the "Face" itself.

It is virtually impossible to prove or disprove the theory that the "Face" on Mars is an artificial structure. Probably the only thing that will determine conclusively what exactly we have with the "Face", is when an astronaut walks up to the face with a rock hammer.

Until that day, the debate will continue...