Has NASA's Curiosity rover found alien body parts on Mars?
THE Curiosity rover's lonley voyage across Mars' barren landscape could soon come to end, with the robot having seemingly found an object that looks uncannily like a metal arm.
Internet conspiracy theorists have been sent into a frenzy over the image, with speculation heightening over the idea that alien life has been found on Mars.
The image, posted by Nasa and taken with the right Mastcam on Curiosity, shows what appears to be a 0.5cm metal spoke protruding out of a rock.
So, what is the strange sight? A robotic arm? A tool of some kind? An alien spaceship?
According to reports, NASA don't actually know what the mysterious object is.
Meanwhile, the bot has been busy trying out its drill in the alien rock for the first time.
The rover had previously used just the hammer action on the tool, but it has now progressed to operating the device in a rotary mode as well.
New pictures sent back from the robot show a small, shallow, rounded hole that is surrounded by fine tailings.
Soon, Curiosity will be commanded to drill up to 5cm into rock to obtain a powdered sample that can be delivered to the vehicle's onboard labs.
The rover is investigating whether past environments at this location could ever have supported life, and getting inside rocks to analyse their chemistry will provide some of the most telling evidence.
The rover’s Twitter account tweeted, “Knock, knock, knocking on Mars. See the mark I left by a percussion test; necessary prep for drilling”.