Suppose we go to Mars and come across what appears to be a highly advanced technological device of extraterrestrial origin. Let's call this object X. Would the claim "X was designed" be falsifiable? That is, if we assume that the hypothesis "X was designed" is true, are there any testable predictions that could be made such that if those predictions are shown to be false, the starting hypothesis would be shown to be false?
I'm proposing this thought experiment in the context of recent discussions about the scientific status of Intelligent Design, whose primary focus is the apparent design observed in biology. Likewise, if we observe apparent design in an object found in extraterrestrial conditions, would it be possible to establish scientifically that such an object came about by design and not by natural processes?