Viking orbiter image of the Face on Mars, taken 25 July 1976 On 22 July 2006, the DLR-operated High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on-board ESAs Mars Express obtained images of the Cydonia region, site of the famous Face on Mars. The HRSC images include some of the most spectacular views of the Red Planet ever seen. The HRSC obtained image data in orbit 3253 with a ground resolution of approximately 13.7 metres per pixel. The data were acquired at a latitude of approximately 40.75 degrees North and about 350.54 East longitude. Triggered by a photo of the Cydonia region taken on 25 July 1976 by the American Viking 1 Orbiter, one of the visible remnant massifs has become famous during the last 30 years as the Face on Mars. It was first publicly labelled as resembling a human head in the NASA press release on 31 July 1976. Even then, NASA scientists interpreted the formation as an optical illusion caused by the illumination angle of the Sun and the surface morphology, with the r