MARS GRAND CANYON
THE FOUR MARS FACES OF IUS CHASM
This is a chance
discovery I made in early 2001 while researching the Ius Chasm area of
Mars for my second TIME MACHINE sequel. In doing so, I downloaded
a MSSS (Malin Space Science Systems <http://www.msss.com/>) photo #SP2-39805
entitled “Mars Wall and Mass-Wasted Deposit in Ius Chasma”. A copy
of it is shown below.
In looking over
this image very carefully, I thought I noticed something very strange at
the top of the “fracture” wall. Upon zooming in closer, I was almost
sure I saw FOUR faces! It could be incredibly unusual shadowing or
whatever, which is always a possibility with an imagined “face” or two.
But FOUR? I started to think seriously about what was going on.
Doctored photos
are usually discernible at maximum zoom-in, but I found no evidence of
same. If this is a doctored image, or an elaborately construed trick
or joke, all I can say is it’s a damned good job. I feel it’s best
just to present the evidence I have via this webpage and let fate decide.
The first face,
starting from the left, is some kind of canine-like animal. The second
face looks like a young man in his pre- or early teens, maybe a bit older.
Next is a mass of something-or-other which may have crumbled. The
third face seems to be that of a female, the bottom part of whose face,
with the chin and lower mouth, seems to have broken off. An ear is
visible in the higher-resolution images. The fourth face appears
to be that of a male with a prominent, square-mouthed, sarcastic grin (near-smirk?)
showing lots of teeth! The masses at the far left and far right of
the image have no real definition that I can see.
I’ve included
the cropped portion of the downloaded image, along with an insert showing
the facial outlines, directly below each respective face. For those
seriously interested, I strongly suggest you download the original MSSS
image and check it out for yourselves -- directly from the source.
I’ve included the best low-resolution images I can put here on this webpage
for fastest possible download; but re-sizing often distorts images.
To give some
size perspective, I’ve started with a global view of Mars showing its most
prominent feature which is known by several names such as the “Great Canal”,
“Grand Canal”, and “Mars Grand Canyon”, to name a few. The total
length of this feature has been estimated at about 2500 to 4000 miles --
spanning about a quarter of Mars’ surface. Parts of it fall to at
least two to three times the depth of our own Grand Canyon! It took
a major catastrophe to cause this.
Looking at the
feature in close-up, if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say a former moon
with a decayed orbit finally crashed into the surface. Parts of the
Canyon have numerous names and designations such as “Mariner’s Valley”,
“Margitter Terra”, “Noctus Labyrinthus, and more “Chasma’s” (Chasms) than
anybody can keep track of. All designations have been made in Latin,
for reasons I have yet to understand. I’ve cited the English versions
of the most obviously translatable ones. Mars maps are often spotty
at best, often inconsistent and contradictory, which makes it very difficult
to closely pinpoint anything.
Ius Chasma lies
to the far west section of the Canyon, maybe a few hundred miles from the
westernmost end. The “faces” may be roughly 2 to 3 times the size
of those at Mount Rushmore -- with perhaps just the facial features carved
into the rock. They are very close to the top of the chasm, maybe
300 to 400 feet tall. Who they were or why they were important enough
to have their faces and the face of what I’d assume was their pet all carved
into gigantic proportions into that monstrous cliffside is only open to
the deepest speculation.
For the sake
of argument, let’s assume it was some very important family -- parents,
a young man, and his canine-like pet. Or, perhaps they were a well-loved
and highly respected family that all met with some unspeakable tragedy.
Where might
a Martian society be inclined to live? Perhaps in the cliffside,
itself, inside rock dwellings like our Southern Indians, or maybe at the
bottom of the chasm where Mars’ vicious sandstorms have minimal impact.
Or perhaps underground on the surface, beside the cliff, or maybe inside
rock dwellings near the upper part of the cliff -- all speculation at best.
If a horrible
tragedy did befall a very important and highly revered family of high-status
kings, rulers, or whatever, this might be sufficient incentive for such
an undertaking. Three of the figures seem human-like, and the animal
looks definitely like an animal. Are these eons-old descendants of
Earthmen whose own ancestors deemed Mars no longer habitable and were forced
to abandon their planet? Maybe they built some kind of spaceship
or colonyship to transport themselves, realizing the “Mottled Blue Planet”
might’ve been their only hope for their survival.
In any case,
it looks like SOMETHING is there; and hopefully time might help to
better define it as large statues of ancient Martian peoples, or perhaps
an elaborate hoax or some incredibly coincidental shadowing! If anybody
knows more about these faces, I’d very much like to hear from you at:
This first image is a global view of Mars showing the immense “Grand Canyon” or “Great Canal”. Ius Chasm lies between the two red dots shown on the image.
MARS GRAND CANYON
This second image is a close-up view (with annotations) of Ius Chasm in the far-western portion. Note the different names of the surrounding areas.
IUS CHASM CLOSE-UP
This third image is a low-resolution copy of the original MSSS image SP2-39805, downloaded in early 2001.
MSSS IMAGE SP2-39805
This fourth image is a cropped section of the above, showing the portion with all the faces. Underneath it is a line-traced insert (below each respective face) to help viewers discern the image features.
4 MARS FACES WITH INSERT
****Please E-mail any further questions
to:
“Burt”
<timetravellertwo@netzero.net>
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Webpage Copyright © 2002 by Burt Libe. Copyright has been registered. Permission is granted to quote from this webpage, provided credit is given to the author/ copyright-holder, along with reference to “TimeTravellerTwo” and this website.
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