London: An Italian space enthusiast, while going through pictures of Mars, claims to have found a structure on the face of the planet that resembles Mahatma Gandhi.
Matteo Lanneo was scanning through the latest images sent by the Mars Express probe when he came across the uncanny resemblance to India's father of the nation, the Daily Mail reported.
The head appears to have a moustache and shaven, and has prominent eyebrows.
Experts say it is not the first time that a face has been seen on Mars's soil.
In July 1976, the American Viking 1 Orbiter took a photograph that appeared to show a hill in the shape of a human face.
Space enthusiasts speculated that the structure was built by aliens.
However, an image taken with NASA's HiRISE camera in 2010 showed the face was just a large, rocky hill.
The phenomenon of seeing faces is called "pareidolia" - where a stimulus is perceived as having significance, be it a symbol seen in a cloud or a face on a piece of toast.
Scientists say the phenomenon occurs because humans tend to recognise familiar objects as a survival technique.
IANS
First Published: Monday, June 13, 2011, 19:03