A newly resurfaced photograph captured on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover has reignited online speculation after showing an unexplained black object suspended above the horizon.
The image gained widespread attention after X user Kari Sivertzen reposted it on Wednesday. The single photographic frame depicts a rocky hillside, distant peaks, and a mysterious black shape floating in the sky above the Martian surface.
Curiosity captured the snapshot on April 10, 2024, while exploring Gale Crater along the lower slopes of Mount Sharp. The rover was traveling southwest toward Gediz Vallis ridge, an ancient channel-like formation that scientists believe was shaped by flowing water, landslides, or a combination of both processes.
Social media users quickly sparked theories that the floating object could be evidence of alien activity on the Red Planet. However, experts noted that the single frame offers no proof that the shape was a flying craft or even a physical object.
Space analysts confirmed the object could not have been NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which was grounded approximately 2,300 miles away in Jezero Crater. Scientists pointed out that more mundane explanations for the anomaly include airborne dust, a digital camera artifact, or a cosmic ray striking the rover's image sensor. Commenting on the image, one online user suggested it could be a simple image artifact, or alternatively "aliens or us."
Curiosity has spent 14 years investigating whether Mars could once have supported microbial life. The car-sized robotic rover landed in Gale Crater in August 2012 to study the planet's climate and geology. Gale Crater is a large impact basin featuring Mount Sharp, a central mountain rising nearly three miles high, offering scientists a layered geological record of Martian history.
Mysterious figure in distant 2023 panorama
The 2024 snapshot is not the only Curiosity photograph to prompt intense debate. A separate discovery was made in a Curiosity image from August 20, 2023, showing a strange object in the distance that some commentators suggested was a jellyfish-like being or a mechanical device.
NASA's Curiosity rover snapped that image on August 20, 2023, at around 6:27 p.m. Eastern Time. The photograph captures the dusty Martian landscape with rocky hills and large mountains in the background.
The panorama revealed a small figure in the left corner that appeared to have a large black body perched atop two spindly legs. The object stood out clearly against the surrounding terrain, prompting viewers to question its origin.
Fueling speculation that NASA's rover had captured something moving across Mars, images taken of the exact same area less than a minute earlier showed no sign of the mysterious figure.
The picture containing the figure was the last image posted on NASA's website for that day. Curiosity's next picture was taken nearly two hours later, with its camera pointed in a completely different direction.
NASA posted no other photos from August 20, 2023, that revealed whether the object kept moving, approached the rover, or was simply a camera glitch, which space officials refer to as an artifact.
Social media reactions and official scientific stance
The August 20, 2023 image was also reposted on X by Kari Sivertzen, who wrote: "Sometimes I spot things that catch my eye, and I share them here. I believe there is life on other planets, and since NASA has found potential traces of life on Mars, it’s the perfect place to look."
The repost drew numerous responses online. One person replied: "One of the best Mars UFO photographs I've seen!" Independent Mars researcher Jean Ward commented on X: "Jellyfish-shaped UFO/UAP Spotted on Mars. This one seems to be interacting with the surface. It also reminds me of a tripod-like object."
Some observers compared the distant object to the giant alien walkers seen in the science fiction movie "War of the Worlds." However, many skeptics argued that the small black figure standing in the distance was nothing more than corrupted pixels in Curiosity's photo.
NASA has long maintained that it has found no credible evidence of extraterrestrial life. Both the space agency and the White House have maintained that no signs of intelligent life have ever been found on Mars or elsewhere in the universe.
Scientific search efforts remain focused on ancient microbial life rather than intelligent beings. In September 2025, NASA declared it had found the clearest signs of ancient microbial life on Mars in a sample collected by the Perseverance rover. Perseverance has been analyzing rock samples inside Jezero Crater since landing on Mars in February 2021.
Despite ongoing online interest in unexpected shapes found in raw Mars imagery, space officials emphasize that camera artifacts and rock formations account for unusual sightings. Curiosity continues its operational mission across Gale Crater, transmitting photographic data back to Earth as researchers analyze the Red Planet's ancient environmental history.
