The Face

This powerful symbol contains all the features of a humanoid face: head, eyes, cheekbones, nose, mouth, forehead, chin, nostrils, and even a helmet or headdress (Carlotto 1997).

Fig. 5
From frame 35A72 (Carlotto)

Fig. 6
From frame 70A13 (Carlotto)

Furthermore, these features are not cartoon-like, like the so-called “Happy Face Crater” (figure 7), 134 miles wide, which is sometimes presented by NASA as an example of how we tend to see faces everywhere. In fact, all the features of the Face have the appropriate proportion and symmetry of a sculpted face. These facts have been verified by two images taken at slightly different sun and camera angles (figures 5 and 6). Used reliably on known terrestrial features, image processing techniques such as shape-from-shading and artificial stereo provide 3-D constructions of the Face and were computed by Dr. Carlotto (Carlotto 1988). The result was that the object has persistent face-like structure as viewed from any angle. “The impression of a recognizable facial structure is not a transient phenomenon” (Carlotto 1992). The Face is very different from objects like New Hampshire’s Old Man of the Mountain (figure 8), which must be viewed only in silhouette to see an approximate outline of a face (Carlotto 1997). In my opinion, the Face on Mars therefore, has more in common with the enigmatic Olmec heads of Central America (figure 9) or the Great Sphinx in Egypt than it does any natural formations resembling a face.
 

Fig. 7
Galle Crater (NASA)		 Fig 8
Old Man in the Mountain		 Fig. 9
Olmec Head

But the Face is different from terrestrial sculptures in one significant way - it is enormous. The Face is over a mile long and is three times taller than the Great Pyramid (Carlotto 1996). The Face is about 1.5 times longer than the Golden Gate Bridge (figure 10). (Gravity on Mars is one third that of Earth. Maybe, if artificial, this allows for larger constructions.)
 


Fig. 10 
Approximate Scale Comparison of the 
Golden Gate Bridge and Face


The platform on which the Face is placed has a high degree of symmetry. This feature alone is difficult to explain geologically. The facial features and helmet rise above and rest atop this platform (Carlotto 1997).

The helmet, or headdress, has two distinct and symmetrical corners, each on a side above the forehead, and has what look like ornamental lines crossing at the top.

In addition to the obvious facial features, there are also some more subtle details. These include a hole in the eye that looks like an eyeball or pupil (DiPietro and Molenaar 1988), broad stripes across the face (Hoagland 1992), and what appear as teeth in the mouth (Carlotto 1988). It would seem erosion would tend to obliterate these details rather than create them.

In 1976, Viking Project scientist Gerry Soffen presented a picture of the Face to the press for the first time. Possibly operating on false assumptions he said, “Isn’t it peculiar what tricks of lighting and shadow can do.” This has been proven wrong. 3-D analysis has proven that the reason the formation looks like a face is because it is in fact shaped like a face (Carlotto 1997). He also said that a picture was taken a few hours later and “it all went away”, but was unable to produce this picture for comparison…because it does not exist. It was nighttime in Cydonia a few hours later, the orbiters elsewhere (Hoagland 1996). Soffen started a long history of mistrust between NASA and independent researchers. A well-liked and highly respected scientist, Soffen’s inaccurate statements have been resonating with potential conspiracy for a quarter century.



Predictions of a Right Eye in the Face on Mars Come True

Scientists have suspected that this object is an artificial construction of a face for over two decades now. During this time certain predictions were made, predictions that more facial detail would be seen in new imagery at better resolutions. These predictions were verified on January 31, 2001 when Malin Space Science Systems released a new MOC image of the face. Although researchers have once again been denied an image of the left side of the Face (the eastern side), this image of the right side provides a view of a very good right eye. This eye, located just about where an eye should be in a sculpted face, has many details consistent with the external parts of an eye. It has a pointed oval lid apertaure, lid margins, a brow, and an iris. Note that human eyes have several V-shaped features at the corners, or canthi. So does the "184 Eye".



On January 31, 2001 new MGS images of the Cydonia region, including an image of the Face, were posted on the MSSS web site. These can be found at
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/01_31_01_releases/cydonia/index.html

Finally, a full frontal, fully illuminated, high resolution image of the Face on Mars, MGS E0300824. A most unusual feature, this symetrical object has many indications of having been made. Eroded and in decay, it appears to have collapsed on the eastern side.



Access the MSSS MGS MOC image at
http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/e01_e06/images/E03/E0300824.html


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