NASA Spacecraft Spots 'Star Trek' Logo on Mars

[Judi Lynn]

By Elizabeth Howell 13 June 2019



NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted a feature on Mars that looks like the famous "Star Trek" logo.
(Image: © NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

It looks like Starfleet is literally embedded on the planet next door: A dune in the shape of the famous logo from "Star Trek" appears prominently in a new picture from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Even Captain Kirk himself (actor William Shatner) has weighed in.

Don't expect to find Spock, Jean-Luc Picard or Michael Burnham squatting nearby, however. Just like the famous "face on Mars," this Starfleet logo was produced by random chance, as wind, lava and other forces sculpted the Martian landscape.

"Enterprising viewers will make the discovery that these features look conspicuously like a famous logo," the University of Arizona, which manages the MRO HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera, said in a statement. "You'd be right, but it's only a coincidence."

The dune feature is located in Hellas Planitia, a large plain within the Hellas impact basin in the southern hemisphere of Mars. An interaction of dunes, lava and wind formed the chevron shape visible in the picture, according to the statement. MRO has photographed many other chevrons on Mars, so we're guessing this is not the first time it spotted one shaped like a "Star Trek" logo.

More:
https://www.space.com/amp/star-trek-logo-on-mars-nasa-photo.html?utm_source=notification

[3catwoman3]

1. This is AWESOME!!!

Long time Trek fan here.

[TalenaGor]

2. agreed! fucking epic!!!

[justgamma]

3. pretty cool ,

they could have mentioned Captain Kathryn Janeway played by Kate Mulgrew. The first female captain and an active Democrat.

[TimeToGo]

4. I mean,

[Archae]

5. Richard Hoagland is probably saying "I told you so!"

The guy who still claims there is a "face" on Mars.

[edbermac]

6. Looks more like a Martian ship from War of the Worlds.

[yuiyoshida]

7. Lets do it old school!

[tclambert]

8. It's a tooth from a Megalodon.

[TeamPooka]

9. Like we didn't already know Martians would be total nerds. nt

[onlyadream]

10. The universe has a sense of humor! nt

[rwsanders]

11. Time capsule from the future buried underneath, maybe

[LudwigPastorius]

12. !

[Kind of Blue]

13. +Eleventy Thousand!

K&R and thanks for posting!

[Wounded Bear]

14. Cue "Ancient Aliens" episode in 3...2...1...

[Towlie]

15. It looks like a bird to me. I see its eye and beak near the lower right corner.