New NASA images show “Star Trek’ Starfleet logo on Mars

Whether you're a Star Trek fan or not, there is no doubt that a picture of a geological feature on Mars' surface looks a lot like the Starfleet logo from the USS Enterprise.

The picture which was captured by the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera shows a chevron shaped "footprint", that according to them, is the result of a "complex story of dunes, lava, and wind".

Alongside the picture, NASA wrote:

These curious chevron shapes in southeast Hellas Planitia are the result of a complex story of dunes, lava, and wind.

Explaining the phenomenon in more detail, they added:

Long ago, there were large crescent-shaped (barchan) dunes that moved across this area, and at some point, there was an eruption. The lava flowed out over the plain and around the dunes, but not over them. The lava solidified, but these dunes still stuck up like islands.

However, they were still just dunes, and the wind continued to blow.

Eventually, the sand piles that were the dunes migrated away, leaving these “footprints” in the lava plain. These are also called “dune casts” and record the presence of dunes that were surrounded by lava.

 

But while many Trekkies got very excited about the shapes similarities with the Star Trek logo, NASA confirmed that "its only a coincidence".

Enterprising viewers will make the discovery that these features look conspicuously like a famous logo: and you’d be right, but it’s only a coincidence.

Either way, people couldn't believe the eerie similarity, taking to Twitter to express their excitement.

There was even some good ol' Star Trek vs Star Wars rivalry going on, as actor William Shatner, famous for playing Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise took a dig at Mark Hamill AKA Luke Skywalker on Twitter.

But who knows? Maybe this is the way the USS Enterprise is letting us know they are really out there somewhere.

HT Huffington Post

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