text: A few days after NASA sent a camera up to Mars to look for Viking 2 it spotted the shadowy likeness of a human face. They said," it was a huge rock formation which resembles a human head formed by shadows giving the illusion of eyes, nose, and a mouth." The authors reasoned it would be a good way to engage the public and attract attention to Mars. It soon become a pop icon and it starred in a Hollywood film, appeared in books, magazines and on radio talk shows. Some people think that the Face is bona fide evidence of life on Mars. Meanwhile, defenders of the NASA budget wish there was an acient civilization on Mars.