The first time NASA first spotted the Face on Mars was in 1976 during the Viking 1 mission. At first the scientists back at NASA were surprised, but it did not last long. After some research was done scientists figured it was just another Martian mesa. What made the mesa look like a face were just shadows. When the image was revealed to the public it got a lot of attention. Although some believed the face was a sign of alien life, others were not as easily convinced.

The first picture was taken in 1976 when technology was not very great. So in 1997

NASA 's Mars Exploration Program chief scientist, Jim Garvin decided he'd try to get another photo. On April 8, 1998 Mars Global Surveyor flew over the site again. Michael Malin and his MOC team took a picture that was, "Ten times sharper than the original Viking photos," the article says. But other conspiricy theorists think otherwise.

The article mentions that the Face on Mars is located at 41 degrees north martian latitude. It was apparently winter there in April of '98. Skeptics say, "Perhaps alien markings were hidden by the haze." Garvin says, "Targeting Cydonia was not easy...in fact it is hard to work." Mars Global Surveyor noramally looks straight down but in order to get a good picture, they would have to actually move the camera 2.5 km. They also do not pass over the face very often.

On April 8, 2001 they attempted another picture. This time the picture was perfect. It was a cloudless day in Cyndonia. "The team had to roll the spacecraft 25 degrees to center the Face in the field of view." Garvin said. Not easy work. The article also mentions that each pixel in the 2001 image spans 1.56 meters, compared to the 43 meters per pixel in the best 1976 Viking photos. I think that this picture did really prove that the Face was only a landform and not some kind of martian marking.

In the end people came to relize that the Face on Mars was really on a butte or a mesa of some sort. Garvin says, "So, if there were objects in this picture like airplanes on the ground...you could have seen what they were." I personally do not think the Face is part of ancient Martian life but as Garvin says, "It reminds me of most of the Middle Butte in the Snake River of Idaho." I hope now that the others that once believed in the face now relize it really was only their imagination.