{"id":923,"date":"2026-04-22T15:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=923"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:02:00","slug":"nasas-curiosity-spacecraft-discovers-a-surprising-number-of-giant-dragon-scales-scattered-on-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=923","title":{"rendered":"NASA&#8217;s Curiosity spacecraft discovers a surprising number of giant &#8216;dragon scales&#8217; scattered on Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-534802e0-8f1e-43c0-b6a7-7fe556d97299\">section of <u>Mars<\/u> New photos reveal that it is covered in a surprising number of features, including chunks of fossilized giant reptile scales. But don&#8217;t worry. This strange structure was not created by giant aliens. Rather, it may have something to do with ancient water.<\/p>\n<p>NASA&#8217;s Curiosity spacecraft snapped a photo of a strange rock while en route to Antofagasta. Antofagasta is a relatively young, 33-foot (10-meter) wide impact crater located on the slopes of Mount Sharp (also known as Mount Aeolis) within the larger Gale Crater near the Martian equator.<\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-534802e0-8f1e-43c0-b6a7-7fe556d97299-2\">A pair of black and white photographs depicting \u201cscales\u201d are <u>released by NASA<\/u> A close-up color image of the rock was taken on April 14th. <u>share online<\/u> by the next day <u>Kevin M. Gill<\/u>a software and spaceflight engineer at NASA&#8217;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), specializing in image processing. (The photos were taken on April 7 and April 13, respectively, and are also known as Sol 4859 and Sol 4865 on Mars time.)<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pb-0 pt-2 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 !text-base uppercase sm:text-sm font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            you may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p id=\"elk-53901f50-13f7-4362-a9e4-aaa45e211a5c\">The unusual shapes and dense assemblages of these rocks <u>Comparison with reptile scales<\/u> like <u>crocodile<\/u>some commenters joked that the formation looked like a dragon.<\/p>\n<p>It was not immediately clear how many scaly rocks were photographed or how large they were, but reports on April 10 said they stretched &#8220;many meters&#8221; across the ground. <u>NASA blog post<\/u>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-a2459269-1a37-4daf-b0cb-00c7c3956e49\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1600px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Ld2YWhHRyxswuj6NYebca8-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Ld2YWhHRyxswuj6NYebca8-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Ld2YWhHRyxswuj6NYebca8-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Ld2YWhHRyxswuj6NYebca8-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Ld2YWhHRyxswuj6NYebca8-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Ld2YWhHRyxswuj6NYebca8-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">As Curiosity headed toward Antofagasta, it snapped several photos of scaly rocks that stretched &#8220;for many meters.&#8221; <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-b0d04358-f45f-4399-9772-99c3aa821939\">The researchers weren&#8217;t shocked to see these multifaceted rocks, or &#8220;polygons,&#8221; but they were surprised by the sheer abundance of them in the area.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Many of the rocks we drove over have incredible textures, with thousands of honeycomb-like polygons across the surface.&#8221; <u>Abigail Fraiman<\/u>JPL planetary scientists wrote in a blog post. &#8220;We&#8217;ve seen rocks with polygonal patterns like this before, but never in such dramatic abundance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-kPbshnbMar5RtiNyYGdMUK\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-kPbshnbMar5RtiNyYGdMUK slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Get the world&#8217;s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Polygons with similar honeycomb shapes have been seen before on both sides of Mars. <u>small<\/u> and <u>bigger<\/u> Scales. In these past examples, the shape was often related to the drying of wet mud or ice crystals moving beneath the Martian surface. But it&#8217;s too early for scientists to know exactly how the latest shape formed.<\/p>\n<p>Curiosity collected &#8220;a lot of image and chemical data that helps distinguish between different hypotheses about how the honeycomb structure formed,&#8221; Freman said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"animal-impostors-3\">animal scammer<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-85384ec9-53bb-4cb2-8299-0cce19658bf7\">Curiosity spent the better part of a year before arriving in Antofagasta <u>Study a series of rock ridges<\/u> At Mount Sharp, it&#8217;s called &#8220;boxwork.&#8221; These characteristics also <u>Known as Mars&#8217; &#8220;spider web&#8221;<\/u> Because of the zigzag movement on the ground and the robots that have been wandering around lately. <u>small egg-like spheroids with spots<\/u> stuck to their side. (Do not confuse &#8220;web&#8221; with the infamous &#8220;Martian spider.&#8221; <u>dark arachnid features<\/u> It is scattered on the surface of the planet. )<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pb-0 pt-2 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 !text-base uppercase sm:text-sm font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            What to read next<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-9e75e72e-92b7-43d9-b649-c13fc2f03b36\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1600px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776880560_186_NASAs-Curiosity-spacecraft-discovers-a-surprising-number-of-giant-dragon.jpg\" alt=\"Collage of four rocks on Mars that look like other animals\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-1200-80.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AHqxLjbXWkweRJjx7XYpZ8-320-80.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776880560_186_NASAs-Curiosity-spacecraft-discovers-a-surprising-number-of-giant-dragon.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776880560_186_NASAs-Curiosity-spacecraft-discovers-a-surprising-number-of-giant-dragon.jpg\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Curiosity and other rovers on or around Mars have monitored dozens of animal deceivers on Mars&#8217; surface, including &#8220;Martian spiders&#8221; (top left), coral-like rocks (top right), Martian turtles (bottom left), and egg-like spheroids (bottom right). <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credits: Top left: ESA\/DLR\/FU Berlin, Top right: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS, Bottom left: NASA\/JPL-Caltech, Bottom right: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-d68c04d2-e643-49b7-a88b-2b5d79be626e\">Since landing on Mars in 2012, the rover has also photographed a series of other objects, including some surprisingly realistic objects, such as suspicious animals. <u>coral-like rock formations<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-dfa75684-5899-4059-b898-3f9fa2b6df05\">NASA&#8217;s other Mars rover, Perseverance, has also seen its fair share of pseudo-life since landing in 2021. <u>A statue-like &#8220;turtle&#8221; that pokes its head out of its shell.<\/u>. And a fleet of spacecraft orbiting Mars is monitoring other anomalous entities, including: <u>&#8220;Butterfly&#8221; Crater<\/u> and <u>Martian &#8220;dog&#8221;<\/u> It is buried beneath the planet&#8217;s north pole.<\/p>\n<p>Most of these animal connections are the result of a phenomenon known as. <u>pareidolia<\/u>This is when the human brain sees or hears something important in random images or patterns.<\/p>\n<hr id=\"elk-97e1e81c-e038-49d0-895e-f934fcb5198f\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-bff044c0-f6b3-4015-a02f-c6c92d85fc59\"><u><strong>March quiz<\/strong><\/u><strong>: Is your knowledge of the Red Planet out of this world?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>#NASAs #Curiosity #spacecraft #discovers #surprising #number #giant #dragon #scales #scattered #Mars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>section of Mars New photos reveal that it is covered in a surprising number of features, including chunks of fossilized giant reptile scales. But don&#8217;t worry. This strange structure was not created by giant aliens. Rather, it may have something to do with ancient water. NASA&#8217;s Curiosity spacecraft snapped a photo of a strange rock &#8230; <a title=\"NASA&#8217;s Curiosity spacecraft discovers a surprising number of giant &#8216;dragon scales&#8217; scattered on Mars\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=923\" aria-label=\"Read more about NASA&#8217;s Curiosity spacecraft discovers a surprising number of giant &#8216;dragon scales&#8217; scattered on Mars\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[2253,1093,2255,557,1615,704,2254,2256,2257,582,2199],"class_list":["post-923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-curiosity","tag-discovers","tag-dragon","tag-giant","tag-mars","tag-nasas","tag-number","tag-scales","tag-scattered","tag-spacecraft","tag-surprising"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}