#Crackpots claim they have spotted ‘human bone’ on Mars — but it’s just a rock

By Charlotte Edwards, The Sun

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A rock spotted by NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars that looks like a femur bone, is actually just a weathered Martian rock formation.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

A bizarre snapshot of the surface of Mars has recently resurfaced along with the conspiracy theory that it shows a human bone.

Some people think they can see a femur amongst rubble on the Red Planet but this theory was debunked by NASA long ago.

The photo was actually taken back in 2014 by the Curiosity Rover’s MastCam.

It’s still used by conspiracy theorists to claim that there was once human life on Mars.

This is because it shows a piece of rubble that looks quite similar to a human thigh bone.

A NASA spokesperson previously explained: “Seen by Mars rover Curiosity using its MastCam, this Mars rock may look like a femur thigh bone.

“Mission science team members think its shape is likely sculpted by erosion, either wind or water.

“If life ever existed on Mars, scientists expect that it would be small simple life forms called microbes.

“Mars likely never had enough oxygen in its atmosphere and elsewhere to support more complex organisms. Thus, large fossils are not likely.”

When people attribute human likeness to objects it can be due to a phenomenon called pareidolia.

According to Science Alert, this condition can make the brain process visual information too quickly and leads to people jumping to conclusions.

The Mars “human bone” conspiracy isn’t the first time people think they’ve spotted life on the planet.

There have also been claims of things like a Mars Bigfoot or Mars mushrooms.

As NASA has already noted, if there is life on Mars it’s likely to be microbes and not anything resembling humans.