Elon Musk calls for NASA to investigate mysterious ‘square structure’ on Mars

Enhanced NASA image of the Martian square. The image has been enhanced to make the square more visible.   

Enhanced NASA image of the Martian square. The image has been enhanced to make the square more visible.     Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems via Mars Orbiter Camera, Arizona State University’s Mars image explorer.

All eyes are on the Red Planet once again after a bizarre ‘square structure’ on the Martian surface caused a cosmic commotion online.

SpaceX mogul Elon Musk fuelled the frenzy by posting on X (formerly Twitter), “We should send astronauts to Mars to investigate,” while infamous podcaster Joe Rogan also joined in the speculation. Is this finally the evidence we’ve all been waiting for…?

What is the mysterious structure on Mars?

A newly resurfaced NASA Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera snap shows a rugged region around 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) wide. In the image, there’s a suggestively square(ish) feature that’s sparked heated chatter on social media and Reddit. Some swear it’s the remnants of an ancient Martian civilisation, claiming that ‘nature never makes neat squares’. But hold on to your space helmets – experts say the image has been edited to emphasise the shape, and even in the raw photo you’d have to squint to see anything distinctly rectangular.

While the photo lingered in relative obscurity for some time, it took off faster than a Falcon rocket once Joe Rogan discussed it on his show. Elon Musk then stepped in with his trademark enthusiasm, urging a manned mission to see for ourselves. But not everyone’s ready to book a one-way ticket to the Red Planet just yet.

Is it just Pareidolia? When your mind plays tricks and has you seeing ‘squares’

So why do we see squares, faces, or even Elvis in our toast? Blame pareidolia – our evolved tendency to spot meaningful patterns (like a lurking lion!) in random visuals. Carl Sagan famously noted that our ancestors who ran from anything resembling a predator were more likely to survive. So if you’re primed to pick out potential perils, it’s natural you might see squares on Mars – or canals, or pyramids, or the occasional ‘avocado rock’.

So, are we alone or not?

While we haven’t found conclusive proof of little green men (or big square houses) on Mars, scientists are keen to keep looking. The only way to be sure is through rigorous research – and yes, maybe one day a fearless crew of astronauts.

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Written by

Marc Menendez-Roche

Marc is a writer, educator, and language enthusiast with a background in business and legal communication. With over a decade of experience in writing and teaching, he brings a clear, engaging voice to complex topics—guided by a keen interest in educational neuroscience and how people learn. At Euro Weekly News, Marc contributes lifestyle features and community-focused stories that highlight everyday life across Spain. His ability to connect language, learning, and lived experience helps bring depth and relatability to the topics he covers.

Comments


    • Jonka

      06 February 2025 • 12:17

      It’s just hype, a few rocks making .you think it’s some kind of building, I just hope musk knows what he’s doing

      • John

        06 February 2025 • 18:26

        I’m sure he does and anyway, what could go wrong? It’ll be fine.

      • Rob

        06 February 2025 • 18:49

        Please please please send Musk 👋🏼

        • Elizabeth

          06 February 2025 • 23:02

          Brilliant please from me too x

        • Ted

          07 February 2025 • 00:13

          👍👍🤞

        • Strax

          07 February 2025 • 02:02

          Strap him to a Starship & bid him “bon voyage”.
          I think he will find it to be the corner of a square on a 4 dimensional galactic chess board. At least I do hope so as it may just make him realise that maybe he isn’t the smartest, most important narcissist in the galaxy. I just hope he doesn’t get home sick.

          • PosaunePeon

            07 February 2025 • 12:58

            Trump is “the most important narcissist in the galaxy”, surely…?

            • Paul

              07 February 2025 • 14:59

              What are you bring Trump name into this,
              There’s a lot stupid people.

        • Phil

          07 February 2025 • 04:35

          I was thinking the same thing great idea, he’s the one with the rockets. Send him thought he’d volunteered by now.

        • Fatty

          07 February 2025 • 11:13

          Please take his crappy cars with him…

      • Miguel

        06 February 2025 • 19:52

        He doesn’t!!!!

      • Peter Spano

        06 February 2025 • 20:39

        Trying to get NASA to pay for his desire to go to Mars

      • John

        07 February 2025 • 02:16

        this is straight rage bait for the ignorant… the less intelligent should really wake up & realize the media plays you like a fiddle & these goofy articles are just that…

        • Fatty

          07 February 2025 • 11:15

          You think?

        • NakedOrange

          07 February 2025 • 12:11

          Well said, remember when Musk was a hero? Couldn’t read a bad word printed about him. Regardless of his political views, he’s done more for the space program than any other billionaire.

          • Kez

            07 February 2025 • 15:04

            He get paid handsomely from the pockets of the American tax payer.
            5 billon he received to land men to the moon, all he has done is reach low earth orbit and then crash and burn. 5 billion of your money burnt for that.

      • Mick

        07 February 2025 • 11:59

        Easy to stump up ideas for space travel, like muskstick not that he would have the balls to go. But am sure he will suggest or bribe someone for a one way trip.

    • David

      06 February 2025 • 12:18

      It’s a weather bloon. It’s always a weather bloon

      • Daniel james

        06 February 2025 • 15:10

        🤣🤣🤣🤣

      • Thomas Watson

        06 February 2025 • 16:25

        True 🤔

      • A

        06 February 2025 • 18:50

        Balloon, you idiot

        • Daniel

          07 February 2025 • 11:29

          This is why we have not been visited by aliens, the see how smart some of us are not

        • Skalamanga

          09 February 2025 • 15:19

          Actually, I was the one who suggested nasa go look at it, musk stole my idea.

      • Harry White

        06 February 2025 • 22:43

        All make believe, we don’t leave the surface of the earth, can’t get past the firmament. At the top they are all in the lie

        • poopluv

          12 February 2025 • 09:58

          elon musk is a square

    • JP1977

      06 February 2025 • 12:30

      “…The image has been enhanced to make the square more visible…” – I think you meant ‘Altered, by drawing a square that’s not there. Show the original for a rue, non-biased representation.

      • Thomas Watson

        06 February 2025 • 16:26

        It could be heart shaped ( Valentine’s Day is fast approaching 🥰

      • Peter

        06 February 2025 • 22:17

        I was looking for the original. Forever the optimist.

      • Phil

        07 February 2025 • 04:38

        Just like the face on Mars, there is nothing of the kind, just a shadow. But they made a whole movie referencing it very sweet story but not reality.

    • Mrs j mason

      06 February 2025 • 13:36

      Are you sure that this isn’t another AI illusion?

    • Brian

      06 February 2025 • 13:43

      I think Elon Musk should lead the expedition himself. One way

      • Nestor G Barragan

        06 February 2025 • 18:33

        Take Donald along.

    • Larry

      06 February 2025 • 15:49

      Very interesting if you can show more I will really appreciate it

    • SMGWH01

      06 February 2025 • 17:39

      Like the face on Mars Nasa air brushed out the original then said the original was the fake when in truth the airbrushed copy is the fake.

    • Mike Travis

      06 February 2025 • 19:04

      I bet it was once a pyramid structure 😉

    • Rob Pacman-jedi

      06 February 2025 • 19:13

      Maybe we could fly him to the moon and leave him there.

      • Greg

        06 February 2025 • 19:52

        Or even better snowflakes like you

    • Greg

      06 February 2025 • 19:52

      Thank god we have people like Elon, maybe as humans we have a chance of survival into the future. With great leader like Elon and President Trump humanity has a chance

      • Phil

        07 February 2025 • 04:41

        Wow, here’s a Muskrat for sure, someone believes all his hype like his self driving car that would be ready in 2017, and his hyper loop, and his et cetera et cetera et cetera. get a grip the man’s not a genius.

      • Keith Baker

        07 February 2025 • 07:57

        Oh dear! You have been deluded to thinking a criminal, a pathological liar and a closet nazi and narcissist are going to save the world! Too many fantasy movies maybe? Or just mentally weak and gullible to swallow anything those two throw out there?

      • Skalamanga

        09 February 2025 • 15:24

        Musk is just another trust fund brat taking credit for everyone else’s hard work.

    • Dave

      06 February 2025 • 20:46

      Dear Greg I hope you are joking about Elon and Trump !!! Together they could destroy the whole of civilization and not care about a thing as long as they are alive… But then with just being them 2 morons left one would have to be the male and the other his bitch and for one I think the bitch won’t be Trump 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 If I ruled I would them them 2 on their bikes to Mars and make sure there was no return trip, if you get what I mean 🤣😂

      • Freeman

        07 February 2025 • 04:53

        Learn to spell and and you’re also a worthless person with no purpose (Donald trump is the president of the USA. Elon musk is revolutionizing the world for long term human existence.. your nothing)

        • Fatty

          07 February 2025 • 11:18

          Get a grip…

        • Skalamanga

          09 February 2025 • 15:33

          You wrote ‘and’ twice, there’s a severe lack of punctuation, you missed the capitalisation of ‘Trump’, ‘President’, and ‘Musk’, ellipses have three periods, and the final you’re is missing its apostrophe.

    • Zippy

      06 February 2025 • 21:16

      It’s photo shop

      • poopluv

        12 February 2025 • 10:02

        it’s SpongeBob ‘s thong

    • David

      06 February 2025 • 21:27

      Um it’s obviously a high resolution square the same as on Google maps

    • Terry

      06 February 2025 • 23:03

      If it was a structure it must have been massive to still be visible after billions of years of erosion.

    • DAZED AND CONFUSED

      06 February 2025 • 23:22

      With all that is going on in the world today and this is where his brain is at. Maybe he can build an electric spaceship and if and when he gets there he might be able to find aplace to plug it in some where in that so called square. If there is life on Mars maybe they can sell the planet to him because he has so much money.🤔

    • Alec

      07 February 2025 • 00:28

      Dear Mr. Musk you can send me the one way ticket, cause I’m Canadian, who happens to loves cold remote places. Anytime:)

    • Geoffrey

      07 February 2025 • 00:30

      AI can create literally ANY image you want these days – in hyper real detail, so these type of posts are effectively redundant 🤪

    • Dom

      07 February 2025 • 01:09

      It wasn’t that long ago you lot arrived here with your technology, riding horse back building castles and then boats and invading earth. I’m not surprised now you destroyed this planet you want to go home to mars

    • Josh

      07 February 2025 • 03:11

      Hey Dave, how is Trump so dangerous. He has campaigned all 3 times on an anti war stance. The world (in particular poor people in other countries) is so much safer with Trump in charge. There will be many less wars and innocent people dying under Trump than Biden and Obama.

      • Skalamanga

        09 February 2025 • 15:45

        That comment is so delusional if you believe any of it is actually true.

        His ‘anti war’ stance involves wiping entire countries and regions clean of all their indigenous population and turning them into golf courses for the billionaire crooks he owes money to.

    • Joe rogan

      07 February 2025 • 04:49

      Did you guys and girls hear! DJT won the election in a massive landslide and hired Elon musk ! USA USA USA!!!! No more crazy moron libs!!!

      • Skalamanga

        09 February 2025 • 15:47

        “Crazy Morons” coming out of Joe Rogan’s mouth…

    • Trisha

      07 February 2025 • 06:13

      Why would he do that..he could afford to find it if he so wished

    • Amyg

      07 February 2025 • 09:15

      Leave the Borg alone.

    • Dr John C Bullas

      07 February 2025 • 10:24

      The fact that features are continuous across the “edges” but the image intensity does not suggests it is a single image from the observing satellite that somehow was left uncorrected, nothing to see here, move along.

    • Anita Dildo

      07 February 2025 • 11:51

      Nobody Cares… especially about something some ignorant inbred Nazi says. He supports Trump, so he’s obviously not the genius everyone thinks he is… all he did was take mommy and daddy’s money to BUY other people’s companies… and Trump has proven that any idiot can make money if they’re given a life of privilege anf wealth to start with.

    • Sonjoy das

      07 February 2025 • 12:30

      Interesting 😎, could be something
      But very chance to have nothing 😉

    • Marc Menendez-Roche

      07 February 2025 • 13:47

      Thanks for reading guys! Really enjoying the comments. Keep em coming!

    • Erdling

      07 February 2025 • 14:30

      It’s clear to see that most here are not the sharpest flints in the hunting pouch. I think it best to send all the globalist neo-lib quadrupeds to Mars. The lack of oxygen won’t be a hindrance to their gray matter and there isn’t much there for them to destroy other than themselves. It’s a win for everyone.

    • Tk me 2 ur leader

      07 February 2025 • 19:22

      Amazing how stupid people’s ideas are on here…lmao funny comments 🤣

    • Robert W

      08 February 2025 • 01:36

      Well it looks like the remains of a pyramid. Maybe humans of earth didn’t build the pyramids.

    • Bunghole

      08 February 2025 • 07:01

      These comments cracked me up

    Comments are closed.