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Mysterious Cut in the Landscape Looks Like a Road on Mars

If there is one planet that is the favorite destination for dreamers of the future here on Earth, that’s Mars. Our next-door neighbor has long been the center of imaginative efforts of writers, philosophers, filmmakers and now, finally, companies and organizations that are capable of actually reaching it.
Aonia Mons region of Mars 6 photos
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Aonia Mons region of MarsAonia Mons region of MarsAonia Mons region of MarsAonia Mons region of MarsAonia Mons region of Mars
Some of these imagined futures portray Mars as the next planet humans will occupy, a place filled with cities and the infrastructure to tie them together. Others go back in time and explore an alternative ancient past of the place, when some alien civilization thrived just as much as we’re hoping ours will do not long from now.

In the real world, we know Mars once had liquid water, and as a result of that, we believe it harbored life too. Not intelligent life, probably, capable of building cities and roads, but life that could finally answer “no” to the “are we alone” question.

The hope of life having existed on Mars, coupled with humanity’s appetite for imagining all sorts of futures for the planet, is what’s responsible for our brains finding all sorts of weird things in the images sent back by the hardware we already have in place there.

Take this rather bland photo we have here. Captured by the HiRISE camera back in 2020, it shows a boring region of the planet, north of Aonia Mons in the southern hemisphere. We see the usual flat terrain, dotted with outcroppings, and that’s about it.

A closer look reveals a cut in the scenery, running from south to north in this image, and caused by a phenomenon scientists weren’t able to pinpoint exactly: erosion, a fault, or even a low angle of incidence of a meteor strike are seen as possible culprits.

Some overhopeful minds could see it though as the remnants of some ancient road or trail, on which the chariots of ancient Martians moved to wage war or conduct trade.
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Editor's note: Gallery shows Aonia Mons region of Mars.

About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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