Alien Life Form Found on Mars May Be a Yardang!

The object shown from the Spirit Rover camera is most likely a yardang. No, not another name for a Martian, it is term used to describe a wind worn formation of rock that stands out above the surrounding terrain. They are typically found in dry river beds and deserts and form unusual shapes including human forms. The sphinx of the Egyptian desert is a prime example. I don't mean to suggest the entire form of the sphinx was created by nature. Many Egyptologists believe that the local people then inhabiting the area took advantage of a naturally formed yardang that stood high above the surrounding land and had a unique shape and they carved it to their liking.

You can see an enhanced image of the Mars photo here.

Like many Earthbound yardangs, the Mars picture shows the object near or above the boundary of two different types of terrain and the bottom of the object almost seamlessly blends into the surrounding rock.

The particularly odd shape of the one shown in the Spirit Rover image could be due to everything from varied consolidation of the rock during the erosion process to shadows falling in just the right places when the rover passed by.

I found a unique earthly example of a yardang on Google images here.

Why do so many people seek out and find images such as the Mars object? It is a natural process to look for a human shape or human face in anything from rock formations to a bowl of breakfast cereal. Evolution has programmed our brains for seeking out a human form or face when we look at just about anything. This is a fine adaptation for babies for bonding or seeking nourishment. It would also serve a primitive adult human that had wandered past the boundaries of their tribe and became lost amongst strangers. Seeking and finding a familiar face in these instances may have been a matter of life and death.

This phenomenon is abundant today with people all over the world seeing the image of a religious figure in panes of glass or the melted wax from a candle. I'm not suggesting that there is no possibility for miracles or miraculous images, it's just that seeing an image of God in a piece of toast goes further to prove the phenomenon of seeking out a face everywhere rather than substantiating a true miracle.

Why would alien enthusiasts expect a Martian life form or statue to have humanoid characteristics? Mars' proximity to Earth? Evolution at some very ancient period would have had to run a vastly different course on Mars than it did on Earth. From temperature and atmospheric composition to lower gravity and many additional factors, Martians would have to look very different than humans of any recent epoch to survive their planet.

With the obvious lack of any signs of life on Mars leading to the assumption that maybe the Martians left a few monuments behind to account for this form, why would anyone assume that on a desolate desert like planet we would come across a humanoid shape first? Using the sphinx again as an example; should an alien rover land on Earth and spot the sphinx first, the rover's owners might exclaim 'Hey the people on the blue planet third from their star look just like us lions'.

People will always see human forms in non-human objects. Seeing those forms in pictures from other planets will be even more likely given the pace of space exploration combined with the fervent nature of alien enthusiasts.