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Opportunity Spots Curious Object On Mars
EhobaX writes "Space.com is reporting that NASA's Opportunity Mars rover has come across an interesting object -- perhaps a meteorite sitting out in the open at Meridiani Planum. Initial data taken by the robot's Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) is suggestive that the odd-looking "rock" is made of metal."
So that is what happened to the Beagle lander! They finally found it.
Kinetic stupidity has a new brand leader: Allen Zadr.
I still prefer a cute bunny over metal robot.
To make a good sci-fi story though, Opportunity might have just reached its expiry date and that'll keep everybody in suspense for a long time.
Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
I wondered if it was going to turn up.
It could be worse, it could be Monday.
it's a space station!
All that's left after the martian holocaust...
It's... It's like a big rock but, it might be a metal rock. That's so odd. I've never seen a big rock before.
Wait -- I've seen this movie! DON'T GO LOOK AT IT!
If we tell GWB it's a WMD, maybe we'll finally get a real space program...
i would say it is a rotton brain from one of the mars-robot-aliens. this will make a great plot for a trash movie.
Only morons moderate based on a sig.
Jimmy Hoffa has been found...
They found an alien metal object on MARS!!
shoot now, ask questions later.
Be careful with the abrasion tool or there could be an earth-shattering kaboom.
Of course, that is why they are there!
Billy
When Darl originally came from Mars, he accidentally left his list of source code that violates SCO's IP there.
Now that NASA has found it, his case can finally proceed.
I'm a big tall mofo.
I would think that a meteorite would've been buried in the sand instead of sitting on top of it...
There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't...what about the other 8?
I always wondered what happened to it.
-- I discovered this SIG in the lost and found department.
OK, so speculation is that it's a meteorite - OK, but this was found on a large plain.. what are the odds that a meteor could hit a planet and not leave a crater? Wouldn't the gravity of Mars cause it to increase velocity?
Anyone with more knowledge of meteor physics than me have an explanation?
Project leader Kenobi: it's not a rock. It's a space station
Data Analyst Rimmer: Aliens!
Computer Programmer Neo: Woaaah
Whatever you do, don't send out a well-rounded team of intrepid astronauts on a routine reconnaisance mission.
Looks like a big nugget to me.. I wonder how many commercial flights there would be to mars if they found it was loaded with gold?
Charateristic topology, metal composition, scorched surroundings; clearly Mars is giving birth.
Did you see? there are WMDs in Mars too!
Profit!
It's the Monolith. Taa... taa... taaa...... TATAAAA!!!
Vivin Suresh Paliath
http://vivin.net
I like
It would be time to queue the spooky music.
it's a Starbucks. They really ARE everywhere.
The Blaster Master Fighting for Truth, Justice, and Evil Pie since 1979
Thar be gold in them thar hills!
I wondered if room-temperature IQs would post the obvious.
"The cylinder was artificial--hollow--with an end that screwed out! Something within the cylinder was unscrewing the top!"
--H. G. Wells, "The War of the Worlds"
I stress that this is very preliminary!
:)
Did this guy think that by saying that he would somehow prevent half of the internet preparing some crackpot theory within 5 seconds of reading it?
Personally, I'll wait before jumping to conclusions, and look forward to reading the followup!
I'm not stressed. I'm just terribly, terribly alert.
Um, it's not obelisk shaped, is it?
....
I thought this was supposed to be on a Jovian moon
Step 1: Find big alien rock on Mars. ...
Step 2:
Step 3: Profit!
Touch it, I dare ya.
Shhhh... The last thing that we need is a bunch of Crack/ Coke heads trying to get to Mars. Joe
Looks like ET's titlist he lost on the back 9.
-William
God is everything science has yet to explain.
This is a big deal. You don't find raw metal much on Mars; most of it is tied up with oxygen. Raw metal has many implications: if it is common, it can be a great source of base building. If the metals are rare on Earth as well, and they're common on Mars, they could provide a potential export source. If it is a meteor, and they're common, it could affect our models of how often Mars gets struck by meteors. Since the rock isn't buried, it could provide clues as to how long it's been on Mars, how fast Meridiani Planum is eroding, and give us dataon how metals wear over time on Mars.
Any time you find something you've never found before, it's a big deal. Honestly, to people who've been following the mission, it looked like Opportunity was pretty much wrapping things up. It just left a geological treasure trove and there isn't much more "on the map", so to speak. It's neat to see it continue making nice finds.
We're practicing our labials.
totally bogus..
So the NASA team has been poking around the planet for more than a(n Earth) year, right? Most of the surprises happened months ago... now it's just a matter of finding something to do until the batteries quit holding their charge. Looking at the heat shield doesn't seem like a very revealing bit of science -- more of a "gee look how far we've come" sort of cool thing.
Then they get a picture of a big freaking rock with a bunch of wierd holes, sitting there in the middle of a windblown plain. Not covered in dust like everything else... even the wind patterns in the dust around it look new.
What do you think the first guy to get that picture said when he looked, and then looked again, and realized that this wasn't going to be just another day on Mars?
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
I should also add that raw metal is very easy to mine. In fact, one proposal for lunar construction involves simply shipping up magnets and a machine that churns up regolith, since a small but significant percentage of lunar regolith is pure iron in powder form. Pure iron powder allows for powder metallurgy - while it's not quite as strong as cast iron (not that you need such strength on the moon), you can make almost any shape with it, with a high degree of detail, safety, low energy input, simple tools, and good speed.
We're practicing our labials.
Have you been wrestling bears?
For those of you who don't know what TES (Thermal Emission Spectrometer) is, here is some more information. The webpage is quite interesting.
But what is this, that is next to the rock?
Is it the heat shield?
From the world's most dangerous and inarticulate "leader"
Regards,
K. Trout, CTO
The best part of the story is it seems that both the rovers will be continuing on for quite some time. Talk about a huge vat of gravy for this mission. It's really nice to see our taxpayer dollars repaid so handsomely.
With the initial "water" find complete, these little critters are free to give us so much more information about Mars than we could have gotten with 50 Viking probes or any manner of orbiting system.
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...
It's a large metal dome like object... on a featureless landscape..... it's got to be the restraunt at the end of the universe! We're all doom!
I like muppets.
According to Wikipedia, "the total cost of building, launching, landing and operating the rovers on the surface for the initial 90 day primary mission was about US $820 million." Presumably, this means that constructing and launching a new rover based on the old designs could conceivably done for a few hundred million dollars. This places it well within the realm of billionaire space enthusiasts and companies looking for creative advertising opportunities. As an example, Procter Gamble has an annual ad budget of $4.5 billion and Microsoft has an annual ad budget of almost $2 billion. Being the first company to launch a planetary rover and having your name associated with all the discoveries the rover makes seems quite lucrative from an advertising perspective.
Is it possible/legal for someone to just contract or partner with the JPL to build and operate a rover for them, perhaps using alternative launch sources to further lower the cost? My suspicion is no, due to JPL being a quasi-governmental organization. Barring the above possibility, are there any mechanisms in place for technology transfer to a private organization which -would- be able to contract with non-government parties?
Nasa now has their new cash crop...if only they can get it back to earth. Seriously, this sounds like a bad sci-fi reality show. So i say, let the NASA Survivor begin.... 16 Engineers....One Space Station....450 Amazing X10 cameras throughout....Who will be left at the end of the season to take the single-seat escape pod to earth, which has presumably NOT become a secret micro-eggsack lair of the Happy Fun Ball. Tune in next week for Guest Star/Guest Victim Paul Reiser....
It's been a long time since someone posted a joke about SCO. I applaud thee loudly.
Figures, since I'm suddenly realizing this thigh bone can be used as a club...
It missed us, but Mars wasn't so lucky.
So THAT'S what that means!
it's a Martian coprolite! Now we can tell what they ate!
I know Amelia Earhart got a little off course, but how did she get her plane way up there? Well, at least we can rest assured that she's no longer considered missing.
Haha, so that's where Blepp's Briefcase went.
You guys got it all wrong.... it's martian poop.
;-)
Don't poke those instruments in it!!
Maybe the rock did leave a crater in the sand millions of years ago, and the crater got blown away by the wind, leaving the heavy rock sitting there.
Things can sit on the surface forever there. It's not like there's anyone there to say "ooh, this is shiny!" and disturb it. That's a human thing... (although now that human scientists sent a rover to Mars, they're saying "ooh, that rock is shiny!" and disturbing it)
If it's not the Beagle, it might be the Mars Climate Orbiter
Get your bags packed... this is going to make the old Gold Rush look like a walk in the park.
If you tamper with it, you'll unleash demons from hell!!!!!!!
Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you in your sleep.
It's a holographically projected camoflauge of two homeless men fighting over Moon-cheese.
I am the nightmare of nightmares.
It's a Horta.
Yup, looks like a rock allright. Move along little rover, nothing more to see here.
Steve's Computer Service, Hobbs, NM
Maybe it's a gold nugget! And the race is on. Exploration in 2010, settlement in 2020, mining in 2030, colonization in 2040, terraforming in 2050 .... (although a source of liquid water would be more valuable kilo for kilo than gold).
"Iron meteorites", also called "irons", are usually just one big blob of iron-nickel (Fe-Ni) metal, as if it came from a industrial refinery without shaping. The alloy ranges from 5% to 62% nickel from meteorite to meteorite, with an average of 10% nickel. Cobalt averages about 0.5%, and other metals such as the platinum group metals, gallium, and germanium are dissolved in the Fe-Ni metal. (Fe is the chemical symbol for iron.) While most "irons" are pure or nearly pure metal, the technical definition of an "iron" includes metal meteorites with up to 30% mineral inclusions such as sulfides, metal oxides and silicates. The irons represent the cores of former planetoids.
The Spoon
Updated 6/28/2011
what the hell is that? that's a lot more interesting than the rock.
Opportunity is going to get over there and get
"Hey! Little help over here? Can you just kick that back over this way? Say, you play goalie?"
-Todd
"The details of my life are quite inconsequential..."
It is, in fact, a Horta, probably curious to know the source of all the commotion on the surface. While a peaceful race, the Horta are very protective of their eggs. There's probably a hatchery full of "silicon nodules" located nearby. The Horta were first discovered in the mines on Janus IV.
This object is not very far from other debris from the re-entry. It could very well turn out to be a chunk of something that got a bit melty on the way in.
The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
An old Russian Satellite, Viking or some other man hurled glob of junk?
I think it is.
Or it's from another star system or dimension, that's also plausible.
Isn't whole of Mars interesting enough that we have to call small rocks interesting!? Reminds me of my days when I laboured over interesting math problems, when whole of my life was lying ahead of me, completely ignored.
Interesting find, but what's up with that caption?
Pic 1
Pic 2
but its probably part of this (see the springs and other debris in the sand)
It's a Uranium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator of course.
Heck it's even on the right planet
And the AOL marketing team got there before the Rover.
I think AOL started shipping their coasters in the little metal cases after some of their martian junkmail CDs failed to survive amospheric entry.
Duh, it's it obvious? Their looking at this guy's helmet:
n (n ew).jpg
http://www.animaart.com/relatedart/images/marvi
Crackpot theories make me very angry. Too bad my Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator is in the shop for repairs.
If it's a meteorite, then where is the crater?
...one of the missing WMDs! =) On Mars! Clearly Saddam's capability was more advanced than even *we* suspected! Invasion double-justified!!
Am I the only one that thinks that the picture of this object:
. com/images/h_opportunity_rock0113-1_01.jpg
http://a52.g.akamaitech.net/f/52/827/1d/www.space
looks like a hacked-up pre-PhotoShop tabloid cover photo???
-JT
You can never trust those Hollywood set designers to cleanup after lunch.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
We know what happens if you do that!!!
..
1) Become covered in an alient plant from head to toe or
2) A 'blob' leaps up the stick and starts to disolve you!
(If at first you don't succeed, do it different next time!)
That meteor contains The Blob!
"BEHOLD, CORN!!" - Dr. Weird, ATHF
Maybe thats what's left of the many probes that we've managed to crash into that planet?
I for one welco... oh nevermind, it's just not that funny.
Maybe it is a decoy. The Martians put it there to lure the rover in closer...
It's full of starrrrssss.... http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?MyGodItsFullOfStars
Humor from a Genetically Molested Mind
FREE MARS!!!
That's not that interesting looking - like most of the rest of Mars we've seen - except to planetologists. I find it interesting that the surface of Mars is so boring. That's because all the action is below the surface, where Mars is teeming with vampires . Once Opportunity takes the bait of probing that rock, setting off the alarms, the thin Martian air will be filled with flapping batwings. Our wisdom in sending a bloodless probe will pay off, as we'll have drawn them out into the rays of the sun, where our robot minions are a match for the weakened biters. I'll be playing the SOLASER across the face of the Red Planet this week, amplifying the beneficent rays of the Sun perhaps enough to make a difference. That is, if the vampire-controlled FAA doesn't stop me with their "laser-warning system" they've bankrolled on trumped-up terror propaganda.
--
make install -not war
there's no atmosphere (so to speak) to burn up in.
MUCH better fullscreen versions can be found here:
i ty _n345.html
http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportun
What a great time to be alive! I'm happy that my tax dollars are funding this stuff.
The "object" is on the surface within a few meters of the heat shield. It's like nothing else the rovers have seen on Mars in over a year. I'd bet on Terrestrial origin. A "melty" chunk of the shield sounds about right. The surface pattern even resembles some of the texture of the shield material.
"When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform." - Mark Twain
"We come in peace ... shoot to kill"
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
Mac-mini.
Step 1: Find big alien rock on Mars
Step 2: Detect some obvious sign of intelligent origin.
Step 3: ?
Step 4: Manned mission to Mars.
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that we get more data our of rovers than we do orbiters. Certainly a rover can give us very detailed data of a given area, but our knowledge of the regional and global characteristics of Mars come courtesy of our orbiter missions. The very landing sites picked were selected because of the data from these orbiters. Most of the rover data is relayed by the relay systems on the Mars Odyssey orbiter. I would say that rovers and orbiters complement each other nicely.
Keep in mind that we've been roving on our planet since before the beginning of history, but we still get a lot of useful information out of orbiters around our world (Landsat, GOES, etc.), too.
It's a Trap!
I know its NASA and I know they wouldn't play tricks on us, but... it looks like it's a bad photoshop job. Anyone else with that impression?
Look ! Look at the shiny rock. In the meantime the Martians will be sneaking away behind them.
o u
Obviously, this is the "eye" from the face of Mars. After subjecting it to literally minutes of Photoshop manipulations, I can make out a pupil, the iris, and a Martian contact lens. I also believe that there's a colony of super-microscopic aliens on that contact lens.
Vincent J. Murphy
Spandex Justice
Did you see the heat shield that they just examined the other day? It was all burnt up.
The fact that they are even unsure about it with such a clear photo makes me wonder how they can show some fuzzy picture of a blob and tell you they've discovered a sun with 3 planets.
They might even do it to us using the death ray on the dark side of the moon if we keep snooping. They don't like that.
The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
It appears giant rocks have taken oven Mars...
Even if that rock turned out to be pure gold, would it be worth it to set up shop on Mars and "export" it back to Earth? I think the price of gold is roughly $400US/ounce. I wouldn't be surprised if transport costs are a great deal more. Anyone know?
S
After through analysis it has been determined the object is a... crushed beer can
My guess is that it is the only remaining exposed part of an alien ship. (which over the millenia has been covered up by blowing sand, aliens, old copies of slashcode.)
"What's that? It's a rock." -- Con Air
Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
It's a discarded tinfoil hat
When a politician takes office, his or her brain is petrified and shot into space so there's no chance it'll ever be used again. This one looks like Clinton's, but it could be Bush's. They're a lot more similar than many people realize.
Don't you realize?
Its a Illudium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
+++ MELON MELON MELON +++ Out of Cheese Error +++ redo from start +++
"Opportunity Spots Curious Object On Mars"
"Curious Object" spots Opportunity. Goes WTF?
By Crikey! is she angry this lil' rock! 'ave a look at that! WHOOOA!
No, it's actually an inexpensive replica of the Face on Mars that some alien space tourist dropped. It looks just like a meteorite because the photos were taken with wrong illumination and at wrong inclination, just like the images of the Mars Global Surveyor released by NASA supposedly to debunk the existence of the extraterrestrial artifact.
I'm a sci-fi vegan: I don't want the aliens to think we have as much right to live as the fried chickens we eat.
the blob seems to be about the thickness of a good skipping stone, while the aeroshell is mostly honeycombed aluminum or titanium, made of metal sheets much the same thickness as a soda can.
If enough Titanium melted from the aeroshell to make that one blob, it wouldn't be the only blob, and we wouldn't have enough rover left to take its picture.
The rock is embedded in the dune such as to suggest wind has had time to blow the sand around it. Other evidence suggests that the various sand ripples you see haven't moved much in thousands of years. The grains in the surface crust are somewhat cemented together, and the thin Martain wind has a hell of a time moving a grain of sand, much less make an impression on the crust over the course of a year.
Luke, help me take this mask off
...and so it begins.
Si tacuisses philosophus mansisses. If you had kept quiet, you would have remained a philosopher.
beware don't open it, that could lead to a whole world of ptavvs!
what the hell is that?
oh... i know what that is...
First martian to second martian, "So can we set up a corporate iron extraction factory there now and outsource everything to Earth?"
You would think that someone at NASA was a little better than that on Photochop.
So that's what happened! (but don't tell the martian creationists)
Well, isn't everything on Mars something we've never found before? And how much of Mars is left?
It may be a big deal to planetary people, but to the General Public it's just more banality dressed up as something exciting.
Call when something interesting happens, like they figured out how the solar cells got cleaned off somehow and are generating more power.
It's a meteorite from Earth.
Houston, we think there's actually life on Earth.
The shiter-ite that fell from the airplane!
I wonder if you can eat fries off it!
The image shows pitting on all sides, as a small unbroken object would; a larger object would also have slowed less, struck harder and wound up more vaporized and/or fragmented. I like the idea that it came in at a grazing angle and landed slowly, perhaps clipping something like a crater rim before rolling or bouncing to a stop. Close photographic examination may find abrasion marks which could illustrate its last moments before coming to rest.
Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
Sudamm insane hides his weapons of mass distruction. As no one can disprove it we get another unverifiable statement from 1600 Penn Ave. Nasa suddenly gets huge fund to "confirm" bushes claims :)
That's probably what's left of the Beagle ][ that melted or burned up on entry a year ago.
2 1/2252227&tid=160&tid=14 0 8/2340206&tid=160&tid=126&tid=14
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/
If you must moderate, please moderate as irrelevent, not something bad, because I'm sure someone will find this interest
It must be him.
I know what happened. An alien spacecraft was whizzing by, and the slightly intoxicated driver crushed his 72oz beer can and threw it out the window. Yes, much to our dismay, and as prophesied by Star Craft, space has rednecks too. Big ones. With beer cans.
Give me a break.
They waste billions and are an entrenched government buerocracy.
Does it have a pull tab, or a 10 cent deposit?
Yes they have shiny metal like droppings.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
'Nuff said!
Well, apparently, you only have to fool the majority of people for a little while.
All that sand which was once rock. All those sandstorms. And now this bright shiny thing. Why has it not been eroded along with everything else? That is one cool looking meteorite. I wish we could bring it home.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
No I'm not kidding. Go to the story and look at the close up picture. In the top left corner there is another shiny object.
It's the perfect native material to use to make stuff out of on Mars.
http://jordandennis.com/hitler.jpg
So ummm... We found a freaking rock on Mars. I guess this is interesting... This will help us somehow. You'll see. Maybe we can visit Mars in 20 years and actually pick this thing up - this famous rock that we discovered. I guess I don't get it really. We spend millions of dollars on NASA, and they've invented a lot of cool things, but a rock that may be metal?! This is almost as interesting as me finding some sort of fermeted food that's been sitting in my refrigerator for quite some time. At least with this I can be horrified by the smell or amazed when I find out that it's actually alive. C'mon guys... They went to Mars to find out if there was life there. They want to know if there was life there so they can prove that evolution is true. So what? If evolution is true, will they agree to stop taking our money and try to do something useful? I wanna see friggin' flying robots that fetch my fast food and shit. Do that first, and then go look for rocks. It's a freaking rock...
Check it out!. com/images/h_opportunity_rock0113-1_01.jpg
i sco-orb.jpg
Mars orbject: http://a52.g.akamaitech.net/f/52/827/1d/www.space
Orb: http://theoasis.com/brisco/episodes/images/ep1-br
Ed Wedig
Graphic design services
docbrown.net
Does anyone else look at this picture (image from article link) and think it looks horribly fake? Like a bad PhotoChop job?
It would be nice to get some reference as to size. The site does not mention anything about that, has anyone else seen anything like that? If it's a foot across, it's no big deal. 2 meters, maybe more interesting. It looks pretty small, considering the fixed-camera angle, unless it's looking down over the edge of a crater. The article stated it was pretty much in the middle of a field.
Didn't he say we were going to put a man on mars? Didn't I hear that?
Disclaimer: MINAA (Mummy! I'm Not An Animal!)
However, complaining about it is not productive... At least it was on topic (unlike so many First Posts around this place). I'm not even Karma Trolling, as I'm well aware that "funny" does nothing for Karma.
Further, what good is a story like this without some fun conjecture. Yeah... most likely it's some discard from either the parachute or "bounce" deployment mechanisms, but that doesn't even qualify as "interesting".
Kinetic stupidity has a new brand leader: Allen Zadr.