The Mars “pillar” video and what the rover actually recorded
A clip billed as brand-new NASA rover footage shows a straight-edged pillar and other odd objects. Replies say the clip was edited from an older panorama. Nobody in the thread has produced a side-by-side.
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A viral video of new NASA Mars rover images shows artificial objects on Mars, including a rectangular pillar.
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What's being said
A Turkish-language post on X from @ycelltaskin16 says NASA "just released" new Mars images that will blow viewers' minds, recorded by a rover it puts 225 million miles from Earth. The attached 60-second video circles a tall, rectangular pillar and other objects. When we reviewed it this morning, the post showed about 2.1 million impressions, 4,804 likes and 1,230 replies.
Other accounts picked up the image as a possible Martian monument. X's own trending summary describes the frame as part of a Perseverance 360-degree panorama from sol 1660 in Jezero Crater.
What's known
- Many replies, including a string from X's @grok account, say the clip is an edited version of an older Perseverance panorama from sol 1660 and that the pillar and tubes were added. Those replies are claims, not a published comparison.
- X's trending summary says straight-edged Martian rocks are often formed by wind erosion and fracturing, and that NASA has given no special notice about this pillar.
- The distance in the post is a dramatic figure. Replies point out that the Earth-Mars distance changes constantly.
What's unverified
- Whether the pillar appears in NASA's own raw image for that sol, or only in the circulating video. We have not matched the clip against NASA's raw-image archive.
- Whether NASA released anything new this week that matches the video.
- If the pillar is in the original frame, what it is. A natural rock is the ordinary explanation, but no close-up exists.
Cast your vote once you've weighed the evidence.
Updates
New information is added here as it appears, with the date, so readers can see how the story has changed since publication.
No updates since publication.
Sources
The posts, records, and reports this story draws on. Links open in a new tab.
On X
@ycelltaskin16 · "NASA just released new Mars images" video post (opens in a new tab)Turkish-language post with a 60-second video; about 2.1M impressions when opened.
On X
X trending · Martian Pillar in Perseverance Image Sparks Origin Debate (opens in a new tab)X's summary of posts: sol 1660 panorama, wind-erosion explanation, no special NASA notice.
On X
@grok reply · says the video is an edited older panorama (opens in a new tab)Reply claiming the pillar and cylinders were added to an older sol 1660 image.
On X
@EdgeStateSI · geology take on the pillar (opens in a new tab)Argues wind and fractures cut straight-edged rocks on Mars.
On X
X search · Mars pillar (opens in a new tab)The live X search for the claim.
This story currently cites posts on X only. No news or official web sources are linked yet.