New Mars Forums

That article was very interesting indeed, Atomoid. One immediate question that comes to mind is: Are there any concretion forming spherules on Earth that seem to form off of 'branches' or ' tendrils' and then drop-off to the ground as these appear to? I can't seem to get my head around an 'erosional' explanation on these images. Though given the .38 gravity and 1% atmospheric pressure coupled with the briney quality of the soil and so forth... It's so tough to come to any definitiveness either way. We humans are experts at 'seeing things that aren't there'. (But we're also great at NOT seeing what is plainly obvious and staring us in the face..) Even so, I have to concur with Shawn on this one;

(But still, that doesn't change the fact that some of those pix give me the willies...) ???

Acually, I am wondering why there hasn't been more focus on these Spherules, or Sphericles, or Martianberries, or blackeyed peas, or whatever the hell these ballbearings are...
They are really freaking me out the more I see of them.
Take these for example:
[http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … 53M2M1.JPG]Pea Soup 1
[http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … 53M2M1.JPG]Pea Soup 2
[http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … 33M2M1.JPG]Pea Soup 3
Don't they look as if they are actually "surfacing"? The thought occured to me that they may be slowly, over large portions of time, kindof "bubbling" to the surface of their various rock formations. Kindof excreating spheres.
Other pixs show what looks not unlike a soapy kind of texture, spongy, yet rocky at the same time... with "porousness" not unlike certain kinds of coral I've seen pictures of...  It's a little unnerving that we haven't as yet seen any photo's from here on Earth that show anything comparable to these things. If these Spherules are common to geologists, then you'd think some comparison pixs would have surfaced by now? If these things are easily explainable then lets have some Earth analogue. Anyone?

Alas! if only there were enough life in ones lifetime to witness it all unfold!...

Meridiani... The anticipation of looking out over the lip of that crater is killing me. I'm also interested in that daring mission to drop a photo-probe into Valles Marineris... That's the one I want to see!! No really, a purely photographic mission I think would go over real well with the general public. Vistas! Cliffs miles high!! Can you imagine?!! Just imagine what Olympus Mons looks like from its' base?! I'm all for geology and science, absolutely 100%. But the general public, I think, wants to see incredible, vast, vistas. Mars tourism can only be kick started through pretty, jaw-dropping pictures.

Thanks ecrasez. I like it's many layers of meaning... 'Just add water', 'Martian Soup', 'Saucy poster', 'Obvious Mariner reference', 'My favourite Canyon - Valles Marineris', ' My favourite dipping sauce - Maranara(sp.)'.
:;):

Okay, I may have posted this in the wrong spot ( under 'Danger Will Robinson' ) but:

Is it possible for someone to 'hack' Spirit or Opportunity? This may sound ridiculous, I know, but I'm curious to know if some savvy techy guy somewhere might be able to affect the rovers given the right hardware and ability, etc, at his disposal? Could Spirit have been sabotaged? From what I've gathered on the reports, there is a very strong possibility of software corruption which explains the weird behaviour, etc, but have JPL programmers plugged some form of defense mechanism against 'outside' intrusion? Would it be that difficult to do? Also, there is still a possibility of hardware malfunction - which would obviously render human interference improbable. But, is software tampering from elsewhere POSSIBLE? One has to consider ALL possibilities...
???