1998 · Phobos, moon of Mars
The Phobos monolith
When1998; 2009
WherePhobos, moon of Mars
Backing3 independent
Evidencesensor data, official records, documents
In a 1998 Mars Global Surveyor image of Phobos, a single bright object stands out, casting a long shadow across the moon's surface. In July 2009 Buzz Aldrin told C-SPAN: 'We should visit the moons of Mars. There's a monolith there, a very unusual structure on this little potato-shaped object... When people find out about that they are going to say, "Who put that there?"' Canadian scientists even proposed a mission to land beside it.
Evidence, in date order (3)
- 1998Mars Global Surveyorsensor dataMOC image 55103 showing the bright object and its shadow Mars Global Surveyor (MOC camera)
- 2009PRIME mission proposaldocumentCanadian mission plan naming the monolith as a landing target PRIME (proposed Phobos lander)
- Jul 2009Buzz Aldrinofficialtold C-SPAN there is a monolith on Phobos Buzz Aldrin on C-SPAN, 22 July 2009
How plausible · Moderate
A bright object with a long shadow in official imagery, noted by a named astronaut; nobody has visited it.
- ●●No gain sought Official imagery.
- ●●Character record Buzz Aldrin.
- ●●Checkable details check out Released frame.
- ●○Access Imagery.
- ●○Restraint Treated as notable, not artificial.
- ●○Physical traces or official reaction Image.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- Mars Global Surveyor MOC image 55103 (1998).Face on Mars
- Buzz Aldrin's remarks on C-SPAN, July 2009.
- The proposed Canadian PRIME mission to Phobos (2009), which named the monolith as a target.Phobos 2's elongated object
Claims
An artificial structure placed on Phobos, which some say is itself hollow or artificial.Phobos 2's elongated objectspeculationSourced, unconfirmedbelievers
Where
Phobos, moon of Mars
0.0°N 0.0°E on Mars · region only
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Similar cases · sharing people, threads, topics or era
Connected cases
People and organizations
Mars Global Surveyor (MOC camera) missionPRIME (proposed Phobos lander) missionBuzz Aldrin personPhobos placeBuzz Aldrin on C-SPAN, 22 July 2009 documentIngo Swann, 'Penetration: The Question of Extraterrestrial and Human Telepathy' (1998) documentReality Check: 'Is there a ruined civilization on Mars? A theoretical physicist runs the numbers' documentShklovskii and Sagan, 'Intelligent Life in the Universe' (1966) document
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Sources
- Wikipedia: Phobos monolith
- Image: The monolith (right of center) in Mars Global Surveyor image 55103, 1998.
- Image: Where the monolith sits on Phobos, marked by the red box.
- Image: Phobos in a high-resolution Mars Global Surveyor image (PIA01333).
- Image: A second 'monolith', on the surface of Mars itself, seen by HiRISE.
- MSSS gallery page