The “nose” is actually a hill in the shape of the letter V; its “eyes” are two small, lopsided craters, according to the University of Arizona, which shared its analysis of the photo last week.

The circle making up the “head” — what the university called “the circular fracture pattern” — “might be due to the settling of a deposit over a buried impact crater.”

It speculated: “Maybe the nose is a volcanic or mud vent and the deposit could be lava or mud flows?”

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The formation, originally captured by NASA last month, immediately won fans on social media. “SO CUTE,” read one of many tweets complimenting the Mars bear. “I love the bear on Mars!” read another. Others argued that the image looked more like a duck.

The fascination — and uncertainty — about what exactly is in the picture on Mars highlights a fascination with the faraway Red Planet.

The United States and China are the only two countries to have successfully landed rovers on Mars.

NASA’s Perseverance rover landed safely on the planet in February 2021, beginning its mission to search for past life. In May 2021, China became the second nation to successfully land a rover-carrying spacecraft on the planet, a milestone that cemented Beijing as a key player in the world of space exploration. The United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country to send a spacecraft to Mars that year. While its Hope probe did not land on the surface, it slowed down enough to enter orbit, The Washington Post reported.

And while NASA has launched many missions to explore Mars with spacecraft, rovers and science instruments, the goal is one day for humans to explore it.

“Engineers and scientists around the country are working hard to develop the technologies astronauts will use to one day live and work on Mars, and safely return home from the next giant leap for humanity,” NASA said in a 2014 statement that announced its goal to put humans on Mars by the 2030s.

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Photos of the bear discovery were published just one day before NASA warned that a 19-foot asteroid would closely pass by the Earth on Jan. 26.

The truck-size asteroid, which was estimated to be between 11 feet (about 3.5 meters) and 28 feet (8.5 meters) across, would whiz past Earth but would not wipe out life on our planet, the space agency said in a bid to reassure people last week.

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