SHARKS AND OUTER SPACE?

The Shark Tooth Dunes of Mars

David Bowie never asked if there were sharks on Mars, which works out nicely because there most certainly aren't any. Yet while some scientists hold out hope for signs of microscopic life beneath the Martian surface, others continue to see sharks all over the red planet.

Much in the same way astronomers see an enormous, gaping jaw in the Great Orion Nebula, scientists surveying the Martian surface have seen telltale shark shapes on the red, wasted world. First, the wind-swept sand dunes of Mars morph into shapes far different from what you find on Earth, including patterns that resemble shark's teeth (or Hershey's Kisses, depending on the viewer's mood).

Meanwhile, actually navigating a Mars Rover across the rocky surface turns every little geographic detail into something to catalog and observe. Small piles of rubble become mountains and miniature craters become canyons of mystery.

In maneuvering the Opportunity rover, NASA mission controllers on Earth gave various features such whimsical names as "Berry Bowl" and "Shoemaker's Patio." They even dubbed a triangular piece of rock "Shark's Tooth," and the related areas "Shark's Cage" and "Shark Pellets."

Sharks on Mars? That's nonsense. Shark Pellets on Mars, however, that's a fact.

Read How will landing on Mars work? to learn even more about the red planet on