Curiosity rover detects bright object on surface of Mars...

I agree more with the logic that NASA would be very anxious to prove that all of their effort and money has resulted in some world-changing find.

Their new budget would skyrocket, and the very existence of NASA would be justified.

I also think that scientist types are usually eager to find things just for the satisfaction of it, and to establish their place in history.

I'm wondering what it is.. But, I would say that if it was anything of importance, that they didn't want the public to see they wouldn't have released it yeah?

Originally posted by BlueAjah
reply to post by Bakatono

 

You could be right in some respects. Not exactly radio shack, but their cameras are not as state-of-the-art as I expected, according to this:

www.nbcnews.com...

"but what’s up with the spacecraft’s dinky 2 megapixel camera and equally dinky PowerPC 750 computer chip?

The spacecraft also has just 4.5 gigabytes of data storage,

I just want to point out the number of megapixils is extremely unimportant. Why?
Take 4 2MP shots and stitch them together. You now have an 8MP image.

The sensor is what really matters, and they didn't slack on it either (much less, making one that survives space travel and landing without damage)
As for the data storage, I believe it was explained as being just enough to take a full 360 panorama before being purged after being sent.
Not like you can ship up a WD 3tb drive and expect it to work, they have temp ranges and moving parts. Also, we don't plan on recovering the rover, so any data is being sent from 33-250 million miles away dependant on location of the two planets, so you aren't exactly getting a 50mbps cable connection to download over.

reply to post by ntech


Think I have put that on my Halloween watch list.

one second you holding your keys...the next....they are gone, vanished!

then there they are...on mars....its the darndest thing

how much did i drink last night??

i think theyr gone!! better off changing the locks....might wake up with a seahorse slug trying to break in

peace

Here's your answer..................'IT'S PLASTIC!" Says NASA.

www.wired.com...

Hmmmmmmmm...............let the lies commence.

Sorry, and from now on I am Michael Jackson....ok?

There is a possibility which would explain why they want to keep this under wraps, why it looks organic and why they will dig no more. If Curiosity was not on Mars but on the Earth then these three points would be explained. They will need to clean the area better next time. This would be in keeping with the fake moon landing theories as well.

reply to post by JackJack


If it was something from Earth, they wouldn't have released it in the first place.

"Dang it, Todd, I told you to pick up your snickers wrapper."

reply to post by CaptainBeno


They got a really good shot of the item in that article with their Remote Micro-Imager of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam). That restores my confidence in their photography capabilities.

They are still saying "the object was probably a piece of plastic, though it has still not been definitively identified".

It is good to know they are looking so closely that they spot something like that. I look forward to the next interesting thing they find!

reply to post by BlueAjah


Me too! If they are looking that closely who knows what they will find next hey? This even surprised me just because of it's size more than anything else. Still the pics I have seen are not the best..........anyone else out there got any good snaps?

Plastic.....meh!

Originally posted by BlueAjah
I agree more with the logic that NASA would be very anxious to prove that all of their effort and money has resulted in some world-changing find.

Their new budget would skyrocket, and the very existence of NASA would be justified.

I also think that scientist types are usually eager to find things just for the satisfaction of it, and to establish their place in history.

I would agree if NASA was not so notorious for being dishonest and disingenuous. If they were an agency of transparency and honesty that would be wonderful. But even in it's inception NASA used nazi war criminals who were involved in the extermination of perhaps a million jews later being part of operation paperclip. They implemented the nazi way in to the program. Not an agency based on ethics and moral fabric i would say. It's like saying killing women children and men are ok as long as you can send man to the moon in the name of democracy. It was about politics it was the fear of communism being the driving force then. It's not a civilian based agency but an extension of the military more less. They have showed time and time again secrecy when it's not necessary. If the mission statement is to find life outside of our planet with the exception that some military brass or administrator must approve it first then it defeats it's own purpose imo. If they didn't wash out sections of moon photos and mars photos and ect and didn't act so suspect.... like a thief in the night.

That would be great, however

Those Scientists have to answer to some handlers and admins above them. Those admins have things they want to hide apparently. So one has to ask what is the agenda of space exploration again? imo there are people of prominence that want to keep secrets to themselves. As to why i can only speculate. Most people in NASA wouldn't know there are things being covered up like little green or grey men or artifacts & ruins either they go about assignment, with compartmentalization it's set up that way to safeguard such secrets leaking out in the wrong hands. They call it a issue of national security , I laugh. ask Gary McKinnon,

Oh NASA stop it you!

Originally posted by AmberLeaf
The rover took a scoop of dirt, and this fell out :scary:

NASA say...or would like us to believe should i say, that this is part of the rover. If this were part of the rover then how comes no one saw it in the scoop before? I believe this was on Mars before the rover arrived.

What do you think? Do you buy the official story or do you think this could be the first piece of evidence pointing to life on mars? NASA has said they will do no more digging until they can work out what it is.

www.foxnews.com...

NASA officials say the Curiosity rover has made its first scoop of the surface of planet Mars and has detected a bright object on the ground. Officials said in a news release Monday that they suspect the object might be a part of the six-wheeled rover, but they won't sample or scoop anymore until they figure out what it is.

edit on 9-10-2012 by AmberLeaf because: (no reason given)

Not the ultimate answer but try "pareidolia". Everyone is comparing it to what triggers their senses to make sense of what nobody knows it is. Lion's teeth?

reply to post by The Shrike


Often "pareidolia" is the case when it comes to these mars pixel threads however the object has a uniform structure to it. It does not appear to be natural in it's environment. It does look like a trilobite or some ancient anthropod. Maybe the curiosity will discover a slice of toast with an aliens face on it next anything is possible.

reply to post by CaptainBeno


You need to read that again

A close-up photo (below) taken with the probe’s Remote Micro-Imager of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) showed that the object was probably a piece of plastic, though it has still not been definitively identified. Engineers will take more pictures of the rover’s surroundings over the coming days to make sure there are no other potential contaminants.

The bold part being the clincher.

They could say its anything, fail to take any more images (or fake them) and people would blindly believe...cos NASA says so.

They are on an alien planet, with things you and i may never have seen before. Im sure i could find images of animals/insects on this planet that you couldnt identify. I could call them plastic, bits of stuff...would you believe me too???

Very interesting, thank you for the post. I can only wonder what it truly is! Maybe one day they will no longer hide secrets from us.

May all beings be enlightened.
May all beings be enlightened.
May all beings be enlightened.

Originally posted by AmberLeaf
reply to post by CaptainBeno

 

A close-up photo (below) taken with the probe’s Remote Micro-Imager of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) showed that the object was probably a piece of plastic, though it has still not been definitively identified. Engineers will take more pictures of the rover’s surroundings over the coming days to make sure there are no other potential contaminants.

If this turns out to be plastic, am I the only one to see the moronic comedy of a billion dollar rover investigating Earth's first historical contribution of trash, on another planet, as a possible life form? That's pretty funny.

i have to say the rounded end does remind me of a bable fish from hitchhikers guide to the galaxy......well at least a dead one

reply to post by AmberLeaf


The video quality is horrendous. Spent billions on a vehicle recording things on VHS then relaying them back home at 56k. I'm sure there are telescopes taking better pictures then this hunk of crap. Oh wait we've never been to the moon or mars. These are pictures of rocks in the Sahara.