WASHINGTON — Is there a doorway on Mars? That’s the question being asked by conspiracists online after NASA released a new picture taken by NASA Curiosity rover.

Snapped by the explorer’s Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Sol 3466 (May 7), the grainy image appears to show a cleanly-cut hole in a rockface. There has been no official NASA explanation of the sighting, but that hasn’t stop debate online about just what it shows.

One social media user described the scene as “a formation on Mars which appears to be a portal and a wall nearby that looks artificial,” while another concluded “swear to God, there’s at least 5 Martians camouflaged in there.”

However, others were more practical, with one Reddit user stating, “it’s obviously not a little door, it’s just a flat piece of broken rock.”

The Mars discovery comes at a time that the U.S. Congress is to hold an open hearing next Tuesday about UFOs for the first time in over 50 years. The House Intelligence Committee’s Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee will tackle the subject.

“The American people expect and deserve their leaders in government and intelligence to seriously evaluate and respond to any potential national security risks — especially those we do not fully understand,” said Indiana Democratic Rep. André Carson, chairman of the subcommittee, in a statement this week.

Federal officials released a report on documented cases of so-called “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (UAP) in Summer 2021. In it, the Director of National Intelligence examined 144 cases of UFOs, but could explain only one.

On Wednesday, UFO “watchdog” of sorts, “UFO of Interest” appeared to have debunked any talk of alien life. A tweet of theirs instead reveals the “doorway” to be a “little niche” in a much larger rock wall.

About this raw image (https://t.co/hZxiepGQXx), what’s that? An entrance to a secret underground tunnel? Watching it in context as part of the whole mosaic, we can see that little niche in a rock w/ other blocks, fractures, shapes & other erosive features all over that rock face. pic.twitter.com/ou4Ze941HR

— ufoofinterest.org (@ufoofinterest) May 11, 2022

What do you think this photo from Mars really shows?

Report by South West News Service writer Dean Murray