Never mind life on Mars. Is there cutlery?
A long spoon-shaped rock appears to hover over Mars in a photo taken by the Curiosity rover. The feature was spotted by a person posting to the Unmanned Spaceflight message board run by the Planetary Society.
Of course, it isn't actually a kitchen utensil placed carefully on a rock by some mischievous Martian. The spoon-shaped structure is likely a ventifact, "a rock shaped by wind," according to NASA.
There is no spoon. This weird Mars feature is likely a ventifact—a rock shaped by wind. Info: http://t.co/pF9UOlj7ct pic.twitter.com/p1CSNGCDuJ— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) September 2, 2015
Mars is a somewhat dead looking world now, but scientists think the red planet was once warm and wet like our own. Earlier in its mission, Curiosity discovered that its part of Mars -- the Gale Crater -- could have once supported microbial life.
The rover -- which is about the size of a car -- is now making its way up the base of a Mount Rainier-sized mountain called Mount Sharp. It is taking photos and gathering more data along the way.
The spoon-shaped ventifact is part of a group of rocky outcroppings snapped by the rover on August 30.
Naturally, a lot of things on Mars look like down-to-earth objects if you look hard and widely enough.
There lots of cool things hidden on Mars if you just look closely! pic.twitter.com/WFKHVwhvQt— SarcasticRover (@SarcasticRover) September 2, 2015