AN AGONISING SPACE mystery has exploded across the scientific community after a viral image beamed back from Mars revealed a bizarre conical object with a smooth, metallic-like surface, throwing conventional geology into total chaos.

While US space chiefs at NASA rushed to reassure the public that the spookily smooth structure is nothing more than natural erosion mixed with a classic case of pareidolia — the trick of the mind that makes humans see familiar shapes in random patterns — a leading Harvard professor publicly slammed the agency’s claim, presenting shocking evidence suggesting we could be looking at something far more sinister…

The jaw-dropping snapshot, captured by NASA’s nuclear-powered Curiosity rover as it prowls the dusty tracks of Gale Crater, has reignited fears that our cosmic neighbour was once the horrific scene of an interplanetary battlefield.

Prominent UFO researcher Scott C. Waring blown open the debate after spotting what he firmly believes is an UNEXPLODED ALIEN MISSILE half-buried in the Martian dirt.

Waring estimates the terrifying metallic-looking object measures just over eight feet long and claims it could be an intact piece of advanced extraterrestrial military hardware — surviving evidence of an ancient conflict that wiped out a thriving Martian civilization.

He even speculated that global superpowers are staying silent behind closed doors in a desperate race to recover the hyper-advanced weapon technology.

“Chances of intelligent beings creating this structure… 100 percent,” Waring declared online, arguing that such a find would be the ultimate prize for world governments eager to reverse-engineer extraterrestrial weaponry.

However, internet sleuths and space enthusiasts are fiercely divided over what Curiosity actually stumbled upon in the red dust.

While Waring insists it is a weapon of mass destruction from an ancient apocalypse, others claim the elongated, streamlined shape looks more like a crashed alien craft.

One eagle-eyed Facebook user pointed out that the object appears narrow with two distinct compartments — claiming one looks empty while the other seems to hold mysterious “packages.” They speculated that wings may have snapped off during a catastrophic crash landing, concluding it was “most likely” an ancient spacecraft.

“Would be cool if it actually was a crashed ship!” one excited commenter posted, while believers and skeptics battle it out online.

This isn’t the first time Curiosity’s cameras have sent alien hunters into a frenzy. Just weeks ago, Waring highlighted another panoramic photo taken inside the 96-mile-wide Gale Crater, claiming to have found an ancient “dwelling” carved directly into the rocks.

Images revealed what appeared to be a perfectly sculpted doorway embedded in the cliffside — eerily reminiscent of prehistoric human homes on Earth.

“What looks like cut boulders is actually clay-type walls and an entrance way made by intelligent beings who needed protection from the elements,” Waring claimed.

NASA, however, remains steadfast in its official stance: Mars is empty, cold, and dead.

Space agency experts maintain that billions of years of violent volcanic eruptions, meteorite strikes, and relentless sandstorms are more than capable of carving rocks into astonishingly artificial-looking shapes.

Responding to previous “alien doorway” crazes on Mount Sharp, NASA pointed out that what looks like a secretive entrance is actually a tiny natural fracture in the rock — just 12 inches tall and 16 inches wide, similar in size to a dog door. “These kinds of open fractures are common in bedrock, both on Earth and on Mars,” the agency explained.

Skeptics on social media agree with the official line, with one X user writing: “Nah, just a rock formation… this just looks like a shadow.”

Yet, despite NASA’s insistences that no evidence of past or present extraterrestrial life has ever been confirmed, the metallic shine of this latest cone-shaped anomaly refuses to go away.

As Curiosity continues its solitary mission across the Red Planet, searching for clues about Mars’ mysterious past, the world watches nervously. Is it just another trick of the light and shadow on a windswept rock… or are we staring directly at the lethal remnants of a forgotten star war?