On December 12, 2022, NASA’s HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured an unusual bear-like formation on the surface of Mars. However, it’s all just an optical illusion, as if you look closely, the figure is formed by a hill with a V-shaped collapse structure (nose), two craters (eyes), and a circular fracture pattern (head).
What might have cauased the circular fractal pattern? Signs are pointing to a lava flow deposit settling over a buried impact crater, while the nose may just be a volcanic vent. The HiRISE camera is capable of acquiring images containing up to 28 Gb (gigabits) of data in as little as 6 seconds, with the smallest resolvable features in the images being approximately 3 feet across.
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Pixel size in images taken from an altitude of 186 miles (300 kilometers) is about 12 inches (30 centimeters) across (about basketball-size). Overall image size is a swath width of 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) by a programmable image length of up to 37 miles (60 kilometers),” said NASA.
