UA camera orbiting Mars appears to spy a Muppet

Likeness to Beaker spotted on surface

A recent image by the HiRISE camera operated by the University of Arizona shows features on the surface of Mars resembling a likeness of Beaker, a character from “The Muppet Show.”

Every so often, a high-powered camera operated by the University of Arizona captures images of something on the surface of Mars that looks odd.

A recent image by the HiRISE camera shows raised features that look like the outline of a head, two bulging eyes and a round nose — features resembling Beaker, a character from “The Muppet Show.”

HiRISE’s operators recently tweeted a photo of “Beaker” on Mars with the hashtag #CannotUnsee. For comparison purposes, they added a photo of the real Beaker, a bumbling laboratory assistant named after a piece of lab equipment and known for his signature shrieking, “Meep.”

No word yet on whether there are Mars surface features that look like Miss Piggy or Kermit the Frog. But if there are, HiRISE is likely to spot them. The camera, attached to a bus-size spacecraft called the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, has been circling Mars since 2006.

HiRISE, short for High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, is the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet.

Scientists have published hundreds of papers based on HiRISE data.

The camera’s best-known discovery was evidence that saltwater still flows on Mars. HiRISE took images in 2011 of what scientists suspected could be water flowing seasonally on Mars. The dark streaks appeared and disap-

peared on the planet’s surface depending on the season, indicating the presence of liquid water.

After more research, NASA announced in 2015 what had long been suspected: evidence that saltwater still flows on the Red Planet.

The key discovery rewrote the history of a planet that was long thought to be only a desert.

HiRISE’s images also helped locate safe landing spots — free of large rocks and boulders — for other spacecraft, such as the Phoenix Mars Lander in 2008.

When the lander parachuted toward Mars, HiRISE captured the first image ever of a spacecraft descending through the atmosphere of another planet.

Scientists had only one shot at that picture because of the speed at which the spacecraft moved through the atmosphere. They timed the camera to take the photo based on the craft’s planned descent.

By comparison, the recent photo that looks like Beaker, the Muppet, was much easier to make.