NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover has noticed unusual rock formations on the purple planet that seem to have shaped into small, twisted towers.

A photograph of the rock formations was shared on Twitter final month by the SETI Institute, a company devoted to looking for alien intelligence. The image, taken on Could 15, was captured by one of many rover's cameras and transmitted to Earth.

At first look the unusual vertical formations seem like virtually natural, trying as if they're made from wooden. The truth that the photograph was shared by the SETI Institute may have piqued the curiosity of some observers.

Nevertheless, any natural or alien origins had been rapidly dismissed by the SETI Institute's tweet.

"Right here is one other cool rock at Gale crater on Mars," the group stated. "The spikes are more than likely the cemented fillings of historic fractures in a sedimentary rock. The remainder of the rock was made from softer materials and was eroded away."

Mars rock
A photograph of a vertical rock formation taken on the floor of Mars by the Curiosity rover on Could 15, 2022, as shared by the SETI Institute. The buildings had been in all probability created by erosion.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

A uncooked black-and-white picture is out there on NASA's web site right here.

Erosion is a well-documented phenomenon during which stable surfaces are worn down by pure processes. Right here on Earth, erosion could be attributable to quite a lot of processes, resembling rain, flowing water, ice, and wind. Mars lacks flowing water, but it surely has loads of wind.

Scientists have beforehand documented how eroding winds on the purple planet have created pure formations resembling valley methods as a result of poorly cemented floor materials being simply blown away.

Erosion also can create smaller, extra intricate buildings. Earlier this yr, NASA shared a photograph of one other peculiar rock formation that regarded like a flower.

The rock formation, additionally pictured by Curiosity and revealed on March 9, is smaller than a penny and has a number of appendages protruding outwards.

"Though it could be a serious discovery if the rock was actually a fossilized historic Martian flower, there are much less spectacular—and at present most well-liked—explanations for its uncommon construction," the house company stated in an on-line put up.

It is thought the flower construction was created when minerals had been deposited into present rock by water leaking into cracks in some unspecified time in the future previously. This shaped a tough construction that continues to be even when the outer rock is eroded away.

Images taken on the floor of Mars by robotic rovers usually are inclined to seize public curiosity, significantly when cool rock formations are concerned. Earlier this yr a rocky "doorway" on the Martian floor made headlines, and different studies focussed on what was interpreted as an "alien determine" mendacity down on a rock within the background of a Perseverance photograph.