Mystery ‘spiky’ debris on Mars could be doomed spacecraft

SCIENTISTS have found debris on Mars that could be from an extraterrestrial spacecraft.

In a new study, scientists say they uncovered strange debris on Mars that’s unlike anything they’ve seen on the Red Planet before.

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What’s more, the team said they cannot say with absolute certainty that the debris didn’t come from alien life.

The formations feature “unusual horizontal protrusions” and are located on rocks in Gale Crater, Mars.

Scientists added that “fragments including what appears to be wheels, an axle, and a cratered debris field have been photographed in another Gale Crater location.”

While the team hasn’t ruled out aliens, they believe the formations are likely the result of seismic activity on Mars. 

“‘These structures are very unusual on Mars and unique in my experience,” professor Richard Armstrong of Aston University, Birmingham, and lead author of the paper, told the Daily Mail. 

“‘There is no certainty what causes the spikes and related structures but the balance of evidence suggests a type of ‘sand spike’ which forms on Earth as a consequence of significant seismic activity,” Armstong added.

Still, Armstrong did point out that there are differences between the Martian spikes and those found on Earth.

This includes the bulbous ends and jagged-like edges that are present on Mars’ sand spikes but not on Earth’s.

“The spikes are unlikely to be space debris but nothing can be ruled out,” Armstrong said.

The debris was first imaged by Nasa’s Curiosity Rover, via the instrument’s Mastcam and ChemCam.

Curiosity has been exploring Mars for many years, but it’s not the only Nasa rover on the Red Planet.

Perseverance is searching for past life in the Jezero Crater and collecting soil and rock samples to be studied on Earth.

Last December, Perseverance collected and dropped off the first-ever Martian sample from the Red Planet.

The rover will also help to prepare for future human exploration, Nasa said.

The new findings were recently published in the Journal of Astrobiology.