MARS — Conspiracy theorists’ latest obsession is an image they say proves there is no rover on Mars.
The new photo circulating the Internet was taken by NASA’s Mars rover on Sept. 16, and shows what looks like a snake crawling up a rocky cliff.
Theorists believe that NASA never sent a rover to mars and has been sending back images from remote desert regions on Earth. Some believe NASA is sending images from isolated facilities in Nevada, while others have pointed to a remote island in Canada where they believe the government agency was able to mimic Mars-like conditions and uses the area as a backdrop for photos.
The image, they say, is NASA slipping up and accidentally capturing wildlife. It is, according to theorists, proof that NASA isn’t actually on Mars.
Scientists, however, have rebuffed theorists’ claims saying that the theorists suffer from a phenomenon known as pareidolia, when the brain recognizes a familiar pattern or object even though it is not there.