Is there life on Mars? New picture shows 'workman fixing space craft' on the Red Planet

USA: Conspiracy theorists say the snap of a man, without a helmet, is evidence that there are people living on Mars.

It's a question that has intrigued scientists and obsessed conspiracy theorists for generations.

And now those who believe there is life on Mars claim to have proof in the form of a set of photos from the Red Planet.

The pictures, released by NASA, were taken by the Mars Curiosity Rover which is currently scouring the planet for signs of life.

But one in particular has captured their imagination.

It shows what conspiracy theorists reckon is a 'workman' who appears to be fixing the multi-million dollar craft.

They say the shadow of a 'human-like' figure can be seen leaning over the space probe and carrying out repairs.

It appears as if he is wearing a suit and air tank, similar to those worn by human astronauts, however crucially he has no helmet.

The pictures have been reported to the monitoring website UFO sightings daily, and have sent conspiracy theorists into overdrive.

However scientists have poured cold water on the idea saying it is a figment of people's imaginations.  

It has previously been claimed that Mars is the ‘off-world’ base for a group of  ‘Non-Terrestrial Officers' controlled by the Pentagon, the US military's command centre.

This was backed up by documents reportedly obtained by Gary McKinnon, a hacker who faced extradition to the US in 2002, reports the Metro.

Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual said: "This new image is more incredible because the human doesn’t appear to be wearing a helmet – not a good idea on the surface of Mars.

"Conspiracy theorists will say that Mars is far more habitable for human life than scientists say and is part of the cover-up to stop us knowing that there are bases on Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System.

"I think it is a case of “seeing” what we want to see, to confirm our expectations and hopes.

"This underlines the fact that such things literally lurk in the shadows and play with our imagination."

Last year, a former US Marine claimed he had spent 17 years of his career on Mars.

The ex-naval infantryman, who uses the pseudonym Captain Kaye, said he was posted to the Red Planet to protect five human colonies from indigenous Martian life forms.

Separately, a woman who said she was a former Nasa employee claimed she saw humans on Mars 35 years ago.

The lady, known only as Jackie, insisted she had seen suited men running on the surface of the Red Planet when she called up US radio station Coast to Coast AM.

The Curiosity Rover was launched in November 2011 as part of a mission whose aim was to establish 'whether the region has ever offered conditions for microbial life.'

It was announced last month that NASA intend to send humans to Mars using a new Orion spacecraft which they are currently testing.