Is it a message from aliens, or the coincidental drill marks of a robust NASA rover? Bet your money on the latter.

NASA’s Mars rover Spirit took this false-color portrait of an outcrop dubbed “James ‘Cool Papa’ Bell” after drilling two shallow holes into targets known as “Stars” (left) and “Crawfords” (right). Both targets sit atop the rock outcrop “Home Plate” at Spirit’s Gusev Crater landing site.

Small dust streaks can be seen stretching behind the rock chips and pebbles of nearby red soil in this view. The rover was looking southwest when this image was taken (on Feb. 26, 2006 or Spirit’s 746 Martian day on the red planet), indicating that the wind was blowing from the southeast. The face-like appearance of this arrangement, scientists affirm, is merely a coincidence.

The “James ‘Cool Papa’ Bell” rock target is named after a Negro Leagues Hall of Famer who played baseball for both the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Kansas City Stars.

Spirit and its twin rover Opportunity have spent more than two Earth years exploring Mars, well more than their minimum, 90-day mission.

• Special Report: Spirit and Opportunity Push Forward on Mars

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/Cornell