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The Viking spacecraft provided our first close up look at Mars in the 1970s.  Among the many interesting images was one located in the Cydonia region that looked remarkably like a human face (top right image).  While the likeness was striking, there was insufficient data to draw any conclusions. People frequently see familiar shapes in otherwise random images, such as the 'man in the moon'. New images from different angles and at higher resolution were needed before any sound determination about the origin of the object could be made.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the astounding implications artificiality brings, many people, including scientists, rushed to judgment on this issue, polarizing into two extreme camps. The absurdity of this situation was illustrated in newsgroups where one could find people offering odds of 100:1 both for and against artificiality.

While the original image did not support conclusions, it did serve as a basis for predictions.  Half of the original image was in shadow and the resolution of the image was still fairly low. If the image was artificial, future images should show symmetry in the shadowed area or secondary facial features only visible at higher resolutions.  If on the other hand the object was natural in origin, symmetry and secondary facial features were extremely unlikely.

Meta Research first weighed in on this issue in 1997, only after new evidence showed that the Exploded Planet Hypothesis offered significance to the position and orientation of the 'face' on Mars.  Still, we were careful not to draw any conclusion but that additional images were urgently needed. 

On three orbital passes in April 1998, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) imaged the region known as Cydonia. The MGS images have the highest resolution of the Cydonia features achieved to date. JPL released a new image of the 'face' to the press and declared the issued resolved. And most people viewing this image agreed that artificiality seemed unlikely.  Yet some scientists argued that the new MGS images strengthened the case for artificiality.  How can that be? Part of the answer lies in the fact that people are not looking at the same images. The first image released to the world media by JPL was "high-pass-filtered", effectively suppressing much of the image's detail.  Yet this image has convinced many that the face was little more than a pile of rocks and a trick of light and shadow.

After a careful analysis of both images was completed, Meta Research published Proof of Artificiality at Cydonia which outlines a standard scientific line of reasoning that leads to the conclusion that in this case the face must be of artificial origin.  Reader comments on this line of reasoning are invited.

Meta Research recognizes that publishing a paper in support of artificiality comes with consequences. We are aware that this may impact our credibility in support other alternative research, regardless of the scientific merit of this paper. However, scientific integrity requires that findings be released when ready, without regard for their popularity.

Links to other Mars/Cydonia sites