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Star Trek on Mars: NASA spots Starfleet logo in dune footprint

Beam me down to Mars, Scotty.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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This Mars dune cast looks like it should be on Captain Kirk's chest.

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter looks down on the Red Planet and sees all sorts of fantastical formations that resemble everything from Beaker the Muppet to Pac-Man. A new MRO view will inspire you to whip out your Vulcan salute.

The MRO HiRise camera team at the University of Arizona on Wednesday highlighted a Martian sand dune formation that could be a doppelganger for the classic swooping Starfleet logo.

"Enterprising viewers will make the discovery that these features look conspicuously like a famous logo," the team quipped.

The intriguing Mars formation has a long geologic history. It started as a crescent-shaped dune that became an island in a sea of lava, but the sand eventually blew away in the wind. 

"These are also called 'dune casts' and record the presence of dunes that were surrounded by lava," planetary scientist Ross Beyer explained

A wider MRO view of the landscape shows more of the insignia-like impressions.

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These "dune footprints" have some accidental Star Trek flair.

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Beyer made sure to point out the resemblance to the Star Trek logo is "only a coincidence." There is no credible evidence of Star Trek fans having reached the surface of Mars. Yet.

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