This is something you legitimately don’t see every day. Scientists have been looking for signs of life on Mars for decades, and while the veteran rover Opportunity hasn’t found any, it has found something that has stumped NASA’s smartiest of pants: a rock. Yes, a rock about the size of “a jelly doughnut” that is being called the rather majestic sounding Pinnacle Island has more or less just appeared in the path of Opportunity’s panning camera with no concrete (pun intended) reason for it to have gotten there, this according to a report by Discovery.
The rover didn’t roll over that area, and it definitely wasn’t there the last time they checked, which was in the span of sols 3528 and 3540. (A sol is a Martian day.) To remind everyone, nothing happens on Mars because nobody lives there, so the odds of something so relatively large happening are quite small. How could the rock have gotten there? Well, Mars Exploration Rover’s chief scientist, Steve Squyres, says it could have been one of two things, and neither involve an alien gently placing it there to be found. As Discovery reported:
Only two options have so far been identified as the rock’s source: 1) The rover either “flipped†the object as it maneuvered or, 2) it landed there, right in front of the rover, after a nearby meteorite impact event. The impact ejecta theory, however, is the least likely of the two.
“So my best guess for this rock … is that it’s something that was nearby,†said Squyres. “I must stress that I’m guessing now, but I think it happened when the rover did a turn in place a meter or two from where this rock now lies.â€
Opportunity’s front right steering actuator has stopped working, so Squyres identified that as the possible culprit behind the whole mystery.
The scientists, despite the mystery, are very excited to study the rock which has likely been turned the other way for billions of years. As for the solution, even though them “flinging it over” is the most probable explanation, the investigation as to the origins of Pinnacle Island is still under way and likely won’t be resolved for a few days. So, it might be underground, mole-like creatures with giant bug eyes after all? I mean, no. But it’s still pretty cool, regardless.
Get your ass to (talking about) Mars in the comments below.
The story behind the story is that 50 years of Highlights Magazine’s “Find the differences in these two pictures” finally paid off.
Next up, rock formations that require 15 minutes of staring before you see the hieroglyph of the alien space ship appear.
Looks like all that alien dust was injested and evacuated. Perhaps a curiosity turd? Lets hope there are more to come.
The only thing that came from Uranus is Myweiner.
It didn’t fall from myanus…
I bet it fell from Uranus!
It’s a piece of a Weeping Angel! Thankfully rovers don’t blink.
It was the aliens from “Mars Attacks!” getting pissed off at the rover for being there.
ACK ACK ACK ACK!
It was John Carter.
Fun fact: Mars is super windy.
it’s quite obviously aliens anal probing rocks.
@ Y_a_pl1_2_virus, I think you meant Dr. Manhattan. 😉
Me, I’m betting on Martian Manhunter.
That or it’s the Rover’s fault and seriously, what are the chances of that?! 😛
There are actually quite alot of differences between the two photos which makes me question if it is the same location.
Turns out it was an actual jelly donut
That’s an invisible rock, the same material the aliens use to build the dome that keeps us from discovering them.
Probably Mr Manhattan.
It was definitely aliens. They love rocks.
Or option 3 – Ice Warriors throwing rocks at the rover. I think I’ll choose Ice Warriors.