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Face on Mars and Face on Earth, Peru

When NASA’s Viking 1 Orbiter sent its first pictures back from Mars in 1976, one feature caught the eye - the famous “Face on Mars” in the Cydonia region. Other NASA orbiters have returned higher resolution images showing that it’s just a naturally forming rock structure. And now ESA’s Mars Express has revealed even higher resolution images, showing a new perspective view of the face.

Face on Earth: Nestled in the clays of the Andes Mountains, near Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru, is the face of a man as viewed from space in Google Earth.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The first full color photographs are back from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and they're big and beautiful. The photos were actually taken in the infrared spectrum, so this isn't what the human eye would see - the coloring was done on computer. The spacecraft was 2,493 kilometers (1,549 miles) above the surface of Mars when it captured this image. It'll be getting much closer in the coming months, so the photos are only going to get better.

Mars is ready for its close-up. The highest-resolution camera ever to orbit Mars is returning low-altitude images to Earth from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Face on Mars
Cydonia region, 1976

Original 'Face on Mars' image taken by NASA's Viking 1 orbiter, in grey scale, on 25 July 1976. Image shows a remnant massif located in the Cydonia region.

On 31 July 1976, a NASA press release said the formation "resembles a human head." However, NASA scientists had already correctly interpreted the image as an optical illusion caused by the illumination angle of the Sun, the formation's surface morphology and the resulting shadows, giving the impression of eyes, nose and mouth. Credits: NASA/JPL.

ESA probe confirms Face of Mars is a naturally formed hill

September 25, 2006. Source WashingtonPost.com

The best images ever taken of the much-discussed "face on Mars" have conclusively established that it is an unusual formation of mountains, valleys and landslides.

Cameras on the European Space Agency's Mars Express satellite, the first European space mission to Mars, cut through the atmospheric dust and haze in July to provide clear images of the "face" in the planet's Cydonia region. Project scientist Agustin Chicarro said the photos "not only provide a completely fresh and detailed view of an area famous to fans of space myths worldwide but also provide an impressive close-up of an area of great interest for planetary geologists."

A perspective view showing the so-called 'Face on Mars' located in the Cydonia region. The image shows a remnant massif thought to have formed via landslides and an early form of debris apron formation. The massif is characterized by a western wall that has moved downslope as a coherent mass. The massif became famous as the 'Face on Mars' in a photo taken on 25 July 1976 by the American Viking 1 Orbiter.

Image recorded during orbits 3253 and 1216 by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express. Image is based on data gathered over the Cydonia region, with a ground resolution of approximately 13.7 meters per pixel. Cydonia lies at approximately 40.75° North and 350.54° East.
Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum), MOC (Malin Space Science Systems)

The Face on Earth, Peru
Satellite image from Google Earth. Eye Altitude 11 miles.

The Face on Earth (See on Google Maps ) is some:

• 456 miles southeast of Lima

• 240 miles southeast of Nazca Lines

• 30 miles west of Arequipa

• 54 miles southwest of Colca Canyon

• 228 miles south of Machu Picchu and

• 195 miles south of Cuzco.