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| The bottom of the Martian lake that became Gusev Crater. (Photo Credit: NASA/JPL and the Spirit Rover.) (Click images to enlarge.) |
"NASA’s Curiosity rover has found new evidence preserved in rocks on Mars that suggests the planet could have supported ancient life, as well as new evidence in the Martian atmosphere that relates to the search for current life on the Red Planet. While not necessarily evidence of life itself, these findings are a good sign for future missions exploring the planet’s surface and subsurface."
- From the NASA report: NASA Finds Ancient Organic Material, Mysterious Methane on Mars.
"No, NASA hasn’t discovered life on Mars yet—but a new result makes it seem like maybe, at some point in the planet’s history, the conditions were ripe for some extraterrestrial beings. Maybe.
The scientists behind experiments conducted by the Curiosity rover are today reporting two results that make the Red Planet’s story even more interesting. One group found carbon-containing organic matter in 3.5-billion-year-old rock. Another noticed the methane levels around Curiosity varied by the season. Combined, these results present tantalizing hints of a potentially habitable Martian past.
From everything we can tell of the chemistry and the minerals deposited in the Gale crater where Curiosity is stationed, “we think it was a habitable environment,” Jennifer Eigenbrode from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center told Gizmodo. “It had the ability to support life—but doesn’t mean life were (sic) there.”
- From the Mars News report: Curiosity Rover Finds 3.5-Billion-Year-Old Organic Compounds and Strange Methane on Mars.
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I wasn't going to bother posting the latest NASA "news"... in spite of the hype... because it isn't really new news, is it? Is it just me or are those cats from NASA like a bunch of little boys (and several girls) in a sandbox hoping to extend their playtime for as long as possible? Or, maybe, just maybe, they're just playing with our emotions? Okay, maybe it's just me.
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| More Gusev. (Sol 13) (Photo Credit: NASA/JPL and the Spirit Rover.) |
In any case, I decided to post the "news" anyway... because it gave me a good excuse to post more old Spirit photos. As it stands, the alleged (new) methane was found in a lake bed in Gale Crater. Ah, but lots of "things" were found in the lake bed that became Gusev Crater... and that was 13 years ago.
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| More Gusev. (Sol 12) (Photo Credit: NASA/JPL and the Spirit Rover.) |
Anyway, in the past, I posted Spirit photos here and here... indicating a number of suspicious objects. Well, I'm posting a few more pan-cam shots... but, apart from some inorganic objects you may have noted from the previous posts, I'll let you determine what's a rock and what's not a rock!
Meanwhile, Part 3 of the Voynich series will follow shortly! But, before I forget, here's a related Mars-news video: Woops, Did NASA Mean to Say That???
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| More Gusev. (Sol 12) And, yes, it does look like there's a letter "B" on one of the objects. But, no, I don't really think that the near-central object is a skull, do you? (Photo Credit: NASA/JPL and the Spirit Rover.) |
