New Mars Photos May Reveal 1970s Soviet Lander

If this is true this will be an awesome find,
I can't wait to find out more, please read the article.
This was the only picture they had so far...

Russian space enthusiasts poring through photos from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have spotted what looks like the remains of the Soviet Mars 3 lander that arrived at the Red Planet in 1971. The Soviet Union lander was the first spacecraft to survive a Mars landing long enough to transmit data back to Earth. However, after transmitting for just 14.5 seconds after landing on Dec. 2, 1971, Mars 3 went dark for unknown reasons. Now a group of Russian Mars fans, who track the progress of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity online, may have found the lander after all these years. [Dead Spacecraft on Mars: A Countdown] The citizen enthusiasts, led by Vitali Egorov of St. Petersburg, Russia, undertook a crowdsourcing effort to search for the vehicle in photos of the projected landing site from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which has been circling Mars since 2006. MRO launched toward the Red Planet in 2005 and is NASA's youngest and most powerful orbiter to study Mars from above. In an image from 2007, they found features that resemble the Mars 3 lander, along with its parachute, heat shield, and terminal retrorocket. The features are the right size and shape for the equipment, and they're arranged in the configuration expected from the mission's entry, descent and landing plan, but it's too early to say for sure whether the photo actually depicts Mars 3

news.yahoo.com...

So, if it does show up, will they send the rover to it? Or is it too far away? That would be pretty cool.

I just don't know enough about this subject.

Would be cool if we could all work together and have fixer robots on mars keeping our junk up and running.
Maybe it just needs a kick start and Russia will be up and transmitting.

Would be cool to get a good view of it and see what type stuff happens to it being there so long.

reply to post by chiefsmom


I'm not sure,

I don't know where the rover is in relation to this find.

Maybe another ATS'r can find out???

Pretty exciting topic..

Eh ATS.....

Glad to see you all commenting...

Originally posted by Connman
Would be cool if we could all work together and have fixer robots on mars keeping our junk up and running.
Maybe it just needs a kick start and Russia will be up and transmitting.

Would be cool to get a good view of it and see what type stuff happens to it being there so long.

Maybe a quick nudge & it'll start up again,also what kind of state will it be in ?? it's been on mars for a long time so we'll be able to see the long term effects of equipment on the surface..

Sounds great but at the moment it just looks like....ROCKS!It is a stretch to see something else in there.

reply to post by silversurfer6161


LOL...I agree..

They need a better picture to convince me also...

Originally posted by baddmove
reply to post by chiefsmom

 

I'm not sure,

I don't know where the rover is in relation to this find.

Maybe another ATS'r can find out???

It's some 3800 km from Curiosity, so I guess it will have to wait for another mission.

Originally posted by chiefsmom
So, if it does show up, will they send the rover to it? Or is it too far away? That would be pretty cool.

I just don't know enough about this subject.

Curiosity and Opportunity are too far and too slow and Spirit is broke...

Would have been seriously cool if they could though!

marsrover.nasa.gov...

Originally posted by silversurfer6161
Sounds great but at the moment it just looks like....ROCKS!It is a stretch to see something else in there.

Originally posted by baddmove
reply to post by silversurfer6161

 

LOL...I agree..

They need a better picture to convince me also...

Meh. Just get one of the ATSers who sees artificial structures in every rock, hill, crease, mound or discolored-patch (no matter how poor the resolution) to point it out for you.

What happens when they find an American missile stuck in its wheels?