The saga of the jelly doughnut-shaped rock on Mars has taken a strange turn - to a US federal court.

Rhawn Joseph, who describes himself as a neuroscientist and astrobiologist, filed court papers this week demanding that NASA do more to investigate the mysterious rock.

A combination photograph shows Mars on December 26, (left) and on January 8 (right) when a doughnut-sized rock was first seen. Credit:Reuters/NASA

"NASA's rover team inexplicably failed to perform the basic demands of science, which is research, look again," he wrote in a petition for a writ of mandamus filed this week with the US District Court in San Francisco. "The refusal to release high resolution photos is inexplicable, recklessly negligent and bizarre."

He asks the judge to order NASA to closely photograph the rock from several angles, thoroughly examine it, and share that information with the public.