From Alien Skulls to Bears: Weird Things People Think They’ve Found on Mars

If Elon Musk has his way, human beings will be living and starting settlements on Mars. And while that is as exciting as it is terrifying, it’s not exactly as if the red planet is an ideal destination. The atmosphere is thin and doesn’t trap heat well, making it extremely cold. Even the best days on Mars aren’t exactly swimsuit weather. The first Martians would face all kinds of other problems too, such as a lack of breathable air, drinkable water, and soil that isn’t conducive for growing food.

Even still, Musk — and others — are hellbent on taking civilization to Mars. We have been sending rovers and probes to the planet for decades, trying to learn as much as we can. Frequently, images are sent back that contain little other than red dirt, massive rocks, and sand. But on occasion, people find interesting images contained within NASA’s photos — or so they believe. We’ve compiled a major list of weird stuff people think they’ve found on Mars, including a squirrel!

15. An alien skull

It’s most likely a rock in this 2006 photo, but the crevices and shadows on it make the rock look a whole lot like an alien skull.

14. A finger

Again, probably a rock. But the interesting shape makes it look like a fossilized finger. It even has a nail!

13. A leg bone

Forget the finger, this totally looks like a leg bone. The Twitter account that spied it thinks it could belong to a Martian dinosaur, but that’s ridiculous … right?

12. A crab

Another fantastic find is this crab.

11. A rat

Discovered in 2013, people have taken to calling this the “Mars rat.” But we think it looks more like a lizard.

10. A bear

Like with many of these, this one is most likely a rock with some fun shadow playing mind games with us. But it really looks like a bear in the picture.

9. A pyramid

Hard to look at this and think it could’ve just happened that way on accident. Did ancient Martian civilizations build this pyramid?

8. A war helmet

This funny-looking rock is shaped like a German WWII helmet. Wait, can we just send all the Nazis to Mars? That’s a great plan.

7. A lady

This is a pretty famous image from NASA of what appears to be a woman. However, they say it’s just another rock with an interesting shape. Typical.

6. A crashed spaceship

The way the shadow falls in this black and white photo makes it look like a spaceship crash-landing charred the ground. It’s probably another funny rock, but would finding a spaceship on Mars really be that surprising?

5. A door handle

This could be a shiny part of a meteorite that hit the surface of Mars. But the other option is it’s a door handle to a strange, underground alien world. You decide.

4. A dinosaur skull

We’re leaning harder toward the Martian dinosaurs theory. Wouldn’t that make a fun movie? Way better than Sharknado.

3. A flower

A shiny, wilted flower? Or maybe another fragment of a meteorite?

2. A hiding alien

More shadow play leaves this image with what appears to be an alien trying to hide behind a rock.

1. A squirrel

I don’t care what they say, nobody can convince us this isn’t a squirrel.

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