The endless expanse of space contains all of the mysteries still unsolved by man, and it's very possible that we will never understand all of what the universe contains before our species goes extinct. That being said, looking into the stars for knowledge is something that we must continue to do: after all, the mysteries of the universe are there to be solved, and if anything, the inky black depths of space holds the answer.

That's why it's so hard to believe that 'scientists' are now urging NASA to go look at a rock that's kind of shaped like a coffin. No, seriously; instead of continuing to explore the surface of Mars, there are some that are requesting that NASA turn the probe around to take a detailed look at a strangely-shaped rock.

Yes, that tiny little rock that somewhat resembles a traditional coffin is the subject of discussion. Truth be told, the rock does actually look a bit like a coffin - but such a thing is a coincidence, right? There are a multitude of factors that could cause the rock to look like that - the angle of the sun, how the rock was formed, the weather or even just erosion are all possible culprits. At the end of the day, it's just a cool-looking rock.

Not so fast: the UFO-ologists (actually what they call themselves) over at What's Up In the Sky seem to believe that the rock is actually a product of something less natural:

It's not the easiest video to sit through (who opens a video on Mars with a recap of holiday plans?) but it does serve as a great tutorial on how to find public NASA files. Otherwise, the video does become a bit of a ramble after a few minutes. The UFO-ologist in the video seems to hint that the formations in the video are actually artificial, but the first sentence in the video's description is "Before you bother commenting and wasting your time. NOBODY HERE THINKS ITS [sic] A REAL COFFIN." It sounds like someone is already a bit defensive, even before anyone has said anything...

So, has NASA stumbled onto some great alien mystery? The short answer is: no.

Mankind has a fascination with finding familiar likenesses within objects, and our discoveries throughout space are no stranger to such phenomenon. The 1976 'Face on Mars' photo and the more recent 'Shadow on the Moon' from last year are clear examples of this, and the 'Coffin on Mars' simply seems to be the latest in the trend.

Now, if someone could just Photoshop Bela Lugosi sitting up in the coffin like a Dracula from the Red Planet, that'd just be the cherry on top.