After a square structure found on the surface of Mars went viral on social media, internet users brought up another Martian mystery.
One of them is a “monument” resembling a monolith, captured by NASA on Phobos, Mars’ natural satellite. In the image, taken in 1998, the structure, approximately 90 meters tall, can be seen standing on the moon’s surface.
In 2008, another similar monument was discovered on the Martian surface itself by a NASA probe. Due to its unusual shape, many internet users began questioning the origin of these structures, as they do not appear to be “natural.”
The following year, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, spoke on the topic. “There is a monolith there, a very unusual structure. When people find out about it, they will ask: ‘Who put that there?’. Well, the Universe put it there. If you prefer, God put it there,” he said to C-SPAN at the time.
In 2009, Buzz Aldrin talked about a “monolith” that could be found on Mars’ moon Phobos.
Some believe he is only referring to a large boulder 279ft across and 300ft tall, while others believe he was referring to something else.
Here’s what he said: pic.twitter.com/OKyuZaFiLu
— John Greenewald, Jr. (@blackvaultcom) May 17, 2024
For NASA scientists, there is no great mystery behind these structures. Regarding the Phobos monolith, they believe it is a rock ejected during the formation of the Stickney crater. This hypothesis is supported by the probe’s image itself, which shows other similar rock formations in the region.
As for the Martian monolith, the explanation seems to follow the same scientific basis. Alfred McEwen, a scientist at the University of Arizona, explained to the Daily Mail that rectangular rock formations are not rare and can arise due to a combination of geological processes, such as tectonic fractures and erosion.
McEwen also pointed out that he believes the rock may appear more “geometric” than it actually is due to the low resolution of the image.
Photo and video: NASA and X @blackvaultcom. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
