Face on Mars. Computer artwork of the 'Face on Mars' feature. This eroded mesa-like land formation, located in the Cydonia region of Mars, is 1.5 kilometres across. When an image of this feature was first taken by the Viking 1 spacecraft in 1976, it appeared remarkably like a human head, with shadows giving the illusion of eyes, nose and mouth. Studies have found that the human brain will instinctively recognise a pattern and try to relate it to previously seen objects. This ability is especially well-developed for recognising human faces. Similar shapes have been 'found' on cliffs on Earth.