In 1976 NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft was circling Mars when it spotted what appeared to be a likeness of a human face in a region called Cydonia. Over the years there has been speculation that this "face" was created by aliens. But over the years new equiptment has revealed the "face" for what it is: a mesa.

There are three key points of evidence that disprove the alien theory: the equiptment first used to photograph the Face on Mars is rudimentary compared to the equiptment used for the 2001 image, the sky was clear on Mars when the 2001 image was taken, and Earth has similar landforms on its surface. For example, "Each pixel in the 2001 image spams 1.56 meters, compared to the 43 meters per pixel in the best 1976 Viking photo." Technology has advanced much from since 1976 and 2001 image is a clear example. The 2001 image also has another detail that can't be left out: it was taken on a cloudless Martian day. A last piece of evidence sure to disprove the alien theory is the fact that Earth has similar landforms on its surface. The Face on Mars, "...is the Martian equivalent of a butte or mesa-landforms common around the American West."

To conclude, the Face on Mars was not created by aliens. The image from 1976 was photographed with equiptment that is rudimentary compared to the equiptment used for the 2001 image, the Martian sky was cloudless when the 2001 image was taken, and the 2001 image proved that the Face on Mars is the Martian equivalent of a mesa, something commonly found on Earth.