In 2011, a hole was discovered by NASA scientists while studying images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The 35 meter diameter hole is located on the slope of Mount Pavonis.

Experts noticed that the crater had almost a perfect circular shape, which may hint at an artificial origin of the object. With side lighting, scientists determined that there is an empty space beneath the hole. Judging by the internal shadow angle, the hole has a depth of about 28 meters.

In 2019, entomologist William Romoser declared that he had found insects on Mars. The researcher studied photographs taken by the Mars rover Curiosity and found traces of creatures resembling insects on them.