- An unearthed NASA image of Mars has captured a strange object in the distance, which some have suggested was a jellyfish-like being or mechanical device.
NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been investigating whether Mars could have supported microbial life for the last 14 years, snapped the image on August 20, 2023 at around 6.27pm ET.
It shows the dusty Martian landscape with rocky hills and large mountains.
However, the panorama also revealed a small figure in the left corner that appeared to have a large black body perched atop two spindly legs.
Fueling speculation that NASA’s rover had captured something moving across Mars, images taken of the same area less than a minute earlier showed no sign of the mysterious figure.
Moreover, the photo with the object was the last image posted on NASA's website for that day. The next picture from Curiosity was taken nearly two hours later with the camera pointed in a different direction.
In September 2025, NASA declared it had found the clearest signs of ancient microbial life on Mars in a sample collected by the Perseverance rover.
However, the space agency and White House have maintained that no signs of intelligent life have ever been found.
There were no other photos from August 20, 2023 posted by NASA that revealed if the object kept moving, approached the rover or if it was simply a glitch of the camera - which space officials refer to as an 'artifact.'
The 2023 image was reposted on Wednesday by social media user Kari Sivertzen, a space enthusiast who regularly shares public NASA images that contain strange anomalies that cannot be easily explained.
Sivertzen said on X: 'Sometimes I spot things that catch my eye, and I share them here. I believe there is life on other planets, and since NASA has found potential traces of life on Mars, it’s the perfect place to look.'
'One of the best Mars UFO photographs I've seen!' one person replied.
Independent Mars researcher Jean Ward said on X: 'Jellyfish-shap
