NASA discovers mysterious entrance in Martian rock

NASA has explained the discovery of a mysterious entrance to a rock on Mars by the Curiosity rover, Gazeta reports, citing NASA.

Earlier, a picture obtained on May 7 by the Mastcam-Z camera on board the NASA Curiosity rover became very popular on the Internet. 

It revealed a rather interesting feature in the Martian rocks, on a geological object known as the Greenhew Gable slope: something similar to a perfectly carved doorway, looking unusual among Martian landscapes.

"The slope on Mount Sharp has many natural cracks, including one with a height of 30 and a width of 40 centimetres, comparable to the entrance for a dog. This type of crack opening is typical for bedrock both on Mars and on Earth," NASA said.

Commenting on the excitement around the image that appeared, the rover team attributed this to the pareidolia effect, in which the human brain sees things or faces familiar to the human eye in the surrounding objects.

"Of course, it may look like a small door, but in reality it is a natural geological feature! It may look like an entrance as your mind tries to comprehend the unknown," the scientists added.