ScienceMars

Is Starfleet On Mars? Dunes Bear Uncanny Resemblance To Star Trek Symbol (PHOTO)

PHOTO: Is Starfleet On Mars?
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Law student & former journalist

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Is this an image from Mars or a scene from "Star Trek"?

It may be difficult to tell, but NASA swears the photo below shows a field of Martian dunes. Yet, the formations happen to bear an uncanny resemblance to the insignia worn by Starfleet officers in the "Star Trek" series.

Here's the photo -- captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera on Dec. 30 -- of these dunes in a v-shape:

And here's a photo of Captain Jean-Luc Picard from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" for comparison. (Note the insignia below his right shoulder.):

The field of dunes is located in a crater near Mars' Mawrth Vallis valley. NASA reported that the strange spacing between the Martian dunes is affected by the amount of sand, wind speed and the planet's topography.

So, it looks like Starfleet has not set up a command base on the Red Planet after all. Oh well, a trekkie can only hope.

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Before You Go

Viking Mars Missions
Liftoff(01 of13)
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Viking 1 launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on August 20, 1975, bound for Mars. A twin spacecraft, Viking 2, followed about three weeks later. (credit:NASA)
The Mission(02 of13)
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Each Viking spacecraft had two parts--an orbiter (top left) and lander (bottom left). After orbiting Mars and scouting for landing sites, the orbiter and lander would separate. Then the lander, protected from intense heat by an "aeroshell," would parachute to a safe landing (right). (credit:NASA)
In Mars Orbit(03 of13)
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This image from June 29, 1976, shows a 30 mile wide swath of Chryse Planitia dominated by Belz Crater. It's known as a "rampant crater" because of the raised ridge around the inner layer of ejecta, material thrown out from a volcano or meteor impact. (credit:NASA)
Landing(04 of13)
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Viking 1 touched down on July 20, 1976, seven years to the day after the first moon landing. Just minutes later, the lander took this photograph, the first picture ever taken in the surface of Mars. (credit:NASA)
Stars And Stripes(05 of13)
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At left, the American flag is seen on the Viking 1 lander with the bicentennial symbol and Viking symbol below. At right, the six foot long rock known as "Big Joe" looms about 25 feet from the lander. (credit:NASA)
First Color Image(06 of13)
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This is the first color image of the surface of Mars, snapped by Viking 1 the day after landing. The rocky wasteland, covered by iron oxide, at last provided an image to match the nickname "red planet." (credit:NASA)
In The Trenches(07 of13)
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Viking 1's sampling arm created a number of deep trenches in the red planet's soil as part of surface composition and biology experiments. (credit:NASA)
The "Face"(08 of13)
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Meanwhile, the Viking 1 Orbiter continued to snap intriguing photos of the surface, like this photo from the Cydonia region that showed what many thought looked like a human face. (credit:NASA)
The View From Orbit(09 of13)
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A Viking 1 Orbiter image from September 1976 shows debris flows east of the Hellas region. The image is about 174 miles across and the debris flows extend up to 12 miles from the source. (credit:NASA)
Red Planet(10 of13)
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A global mosaic from 102 Viking 1 Orbiter images from February 1980 shows a full Martian hemisphere. The view represents what you would see from a spacecraft about 1500 miles high. (credit:NASA)
Volcanic Trio(11 of13)
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A color mosaic from Viking 1's Orbiter shows the eastern Tharsis region. At left, from top to bottom, are the three 15 mile high volcanic shields, Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arsia Mons. (credit:NASA)
Olympus Mons(12 of13)
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A color mosaic from Viking 1 shows the massive Olympus Mons volcano. The largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons is about the same size (in area) as the state of Arizona, nearly 375 miles in diameter and 16 miles high. A crater 50 miles wide sits atop the summit. (credit:NASA)
Chandor Chasma(13 of13)
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A color mosaic from both Viking Orbiters shows a part of Valles Marineris known as Chandor Chasma. The walls and floor show evidence of erosion.The Viking 2 Lander ended communications on April 11, 1980, and the Viking 1 Lander on November 13, 1982, after transmitting over 1400 images of the two sites. The Viking 2 Orbiter was powered down on July 25, 1978 after 706 orbits, and the Viking 1 Orbiter was powered down on August 17, 1980, after over 1400 orbits. (credit:NASA)
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