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To those of you who are avid about alien life, you can watch out for some strange "cauliflower" patterns on the red planet.

A probe into the opaline silica mineral within Mars' Gusev crater by NASA's Spirit Rover in 2008 showed the patterns. They may be the latest clues of ancient life, said Daily Mail.

Still, there is one catch. They look alluring, but they are millions of miles away. It will be difficult to have accurate biological examination. Hence, though the mysterious formations might be from ancient alien life, it is important to unravel the mysteries surrounding their formation, say scientists.

Initially, scientists thought that the enigmatic designs were caused by acidic geothermal processes. But in a 2011 study, they found that the region was likely alkaline or neutral. Hence, the theory was made invalid, reports Popular Science.

Even though scientists are not too sure what may have caused them, scientists believe that they may be due to microbes, just like the earth's ancient microbes shaped its landscape at present. Such patterns can be seen in El Tatio, in Chile's Atacama desert, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand.

"I don't think there is any way around using modern Earth analogs to test where Martian microbes may be found," Kurt Konhauser of the University of Alberta told Smithsonian, according to HNGN.