Emily Chan
From the surface of Mars, a salt deposit in the shape of a smiley face was spotted as astronomers conducted a survey of the landscape with a spacecraft.
The smiley face can only be seen under certain conditions. It is the remnant of an ancient lake that dried up billions of years ago and could hold signs of former life on the Red Planet.
On September 7, the European Space Agency (ESA) shared an image of the smiling face via Instagram.
The shape consists of a ring of chloride salt deposits with a pair of crater eyes that were made by meteor strikes.
The image was captured by the ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Since 2016, the spacecraft has been analyzing the levels of methane and other gases in Mars’ atmosphere.
Such deposits usually would be indistinguishable from the rest of the planet’s surface. But when infrared cameras are used, the salts appear violet or pink.
The photo was taken as part of a new study in which researchers created the first robust catalog of chloride salt deposits on Mars.
Overall, the research team identified 965 different deposits that ranged in size from 1,000 to 10,000 feet wide. Currently, it is unclear exactly how large the smiley face is.
The deposits are important because they can provide the ideal conditions for biological activity and preservation, so scientists are always interested in exploring them.
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