Curiosity, the Mars rover which roamed the surface of Mars since August 2012 has arrived at its newest destination. Some of the images returned already have UFO enthusiasts excited at what they say may be a sign of alien life.
The Kimberley Waypoint is the next spot where mission engineers want to drill into the Martian crust in order to search for alien life, either living or extinct.
Astronomers believe the area may have once exhibited conditions favorable for the life. In the modern day, the region is home to large outcrops of a wide variety of rocks - the region features a junction of four major varieties. Curiosity has been taking detailed photos of the rock formations using equipment aboard its Mastcam.
Curiosity was directed to the Kimberley Waypoint after analysis of high resolution images and spectrographic analysis from NASA's orbiting Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The data suggested the area might have interesting geology.
Controllers are currently driving Curiosity around "The Kimberley" in order to find the next place to drill. They lately discovered an area giving the rover an extensive view of the region.
"This is the spot on the map we've been headed for, on a little rise that gives us a great view for context imaging of the outcrops at the Kimberley," Melissa Rice, Curiosity science planning lead, said in a NASA press release.
What appears to be a strange light in some of the photos has some people asking if advanced aliens might be using artificial lighting on the red planet.
"This is not a glare from the sun, nor is it an artifact of the photo process. Look closely at the bottom of the light. It has a very flat surface giving us 100% [indication] it is from the surface," Scott Waring, editor of the website UFO Sightings Daily, said.
NASA has not yet released a statement about the feature in the images.
The Mars rover Curiosity was launched as part of the Mars science Laboratory in 26 November 2011.
Curiosity has not drilled into the surface of Mars since the spring of 2013, when samples were examined from areas dubbed "John Klein" and "Cumberland." The rover has traveled a total of 3.8 miles since landing on the surface of Mars 20 months ago. While at "Yellowknife Bay," Curiosity discovered evidence of an ancient marine environment and the energy needed to spark life.
The Kimberley is named after a remote region of Australia. Curiosity is expected to be in the area for a few weeks before moving on to its next target.
