After Gorilla, NASA rover finds 'rat on Mars'

The Mast Camera on NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has captured a dusty orange rodent among the stones on the rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet, starry-eyed enthusiasts have claimed.

The photo, taken September 28, 2012, depict the "Rocknest" site, where NASA's rover took a scoopful of sand, tested it, and determined it was full of weathered basaltic materials.

According to Fox News, the "creature" was identified on the UFO Sightings Daily website, where its finder, ScottCWaring, is convinced that it’s a cute rodent on Mars.

"Note its lighter color upper and lower eyelids, its nose and cheek areas, its ear, its front leg and stomach. Looks similar to a squirrel camouflaged in the stones and sand by its colours," he wrote.

However, considering the similarity in colouring and position, others pointed out that it was most likely just a rock.

Earlier in 2010, experts had spotted a gorilla in one of the pictures sent back by the Spirit Rover.