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[Kurdel]

I think that the three consecutive square shaped holes on the right side of the wheel are the most likely culprits here.

Calling them bricks, even if it is in quotes, does a disservice to this discussion. I can understand you would like it to be the case, but it is the dumbest hypothethis to explain this anomaly.

 

[Vagabundo]

The "bricks" are the wrong shape. It is an unusual coincidence, but if you look close you can see a rounded edge on the first "brick" and what looks to be another row of bricks above the visible ones.

Strange....
<fingers crossed>

Hoagland is laughing it up right now.

 

[Partial Gamification]

For more images of the tracks and their very specific shape...

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1329

From the lower-right of your image:

Apologies if that image and the malarky of the brick comment is annoying anyone.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Time to leave for something saner. Good luck with your lava formation/alien intelligence hypothesis.

 

[Joel Was Right]

Bricks...

I want to hear/read the explanations for this being natural.

 

[Kurdel]

I want to hear/read the explanations for this being natural.

Who here has the burden of proof? Naturalistic and mechanical hypothethis are the only ones that are not only likely, but possible.

Stratum formation + erosion could make something like this, however unlikely that scenario can be, it is still more likely than Alien bricks.

Edit: looks guys there came to earth too!

Source

 

[fallout]

Time to leave for something saner. Good luck with your lava formation/alien intelligence hypothesis.

This shit belongs in the 9/11 conspiracy thread. :\

 

[Kurdel]

This shit belongs in the 9/11 conspiracy thread. :

This is Face on Mars level of anomaly hunting and it must be adressed.

 

[RankoSD]

I need to put this to rest, it's wheel tracks:

Example A:

lower right

http://i.imgur.com/3vgUR.jpg


Example B:

lower left

http://i.imgur.com/JLFRB.jpg

The wheel was raised by a small rock and just as it was about to pass it, there was another one, but it was enough to leave a "footprint" in between them...

 

[Partial Gamification]

Who here has the burden of proof? Naturalistic and mechanical hypothethis are the only ones that are not only likely, but possible.

edit: image deleted


Is there a press conference scheduled for next Monday? Anyone know how this " big announcement" is going to be released next Monday ( 3 December )?


edit:

I want to hear/read the explanations for this being natural.

I tried searching polygon, square, cube + geology... didn't find anything. There is likely a specific term for these types of formations, I couldn't find it.

Again, I really didn't intend to annoy anyone or let this unravel like it did, I'm just trying to support the mission in my own odd way. To be honest, I find this conspiracy stuff hilarious but realize it might have been a little inapproriate. Have a good day everyone.

 

[ced]

You can see part of the pointy tread on the wheel pointing at the bricks, and a straight tread above it.

The brick pattern is from this part, or aliens.

Yeah that is a pretty good match.

 

[ced]

I need to put this to rest, it's wheel tracks:

Example A:

lower right

http://i.imgur.com/3vgUR.jpg


Example B:

lower left

http://i.imgur.com/JLFRB.jpg

The wheel was raised by a small rock and just as it was about to pass it, there was another one, but it was enough to leave a "footprint" in between them...

Way to ruin everything man

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I need to put this to rest, it's wheel tracks:

Example A:

lower right

http://i.imgur.com/3vgUR.jpg


Example B:

lower left

http://i.imgur.com/JLFRB.jpg

The wheel was raised by a small rock and just as it was about to pass it, there was another one, but it was enough to leave a "footprint" in between them...

not possible. its has to be alien bricks that NASA somehow didn't see before releasing the pictures.

 

[Mengy]

edit: here are JPL's raw images. The "brick" one was from MARDI, sol 103, and there is another.

It has to be a wheel print.

Look at the pic of the wheel I quoted. The pattern at the top right of the wheel, it's a long slot cutout followed by a square recess followed by a square cutout. If that exact spot touched down on the ground for a moment (the tire would have to be raised by the rocks except for that one brief moment), and if the indentation of the long slot cutout was only half impressed into the ground, meaning that the end of the slot away from the squares was raised enough to not fully press into the ground, then I can see how that exact spot of the wheel could make a print like this.

It's quite a lucky random set of circumstances to get a brick pattern like we are seeing, but it's far more likely than thinking that we stumbled onto ancient alien bricks in the ground.

I'm convinced it's just a wheel print.

 

[Joel Was Right]

My first thought was tracks from the wheel, but the gap in between the squares on the wheel are larger than that shown on the surface.

Edit:

Yeah, the above photo of the wheel matches with the surface. It didn't with the black and white photograph of the wheel

 

[Krowley]

When Nasa finds proof that ancient aliens are real, it's not going to be the sort of thing that slips out accidentally in a picture that they didn't notice. There will be press conferences and all that. The mere fact that we see the picture with obvious squares in it, and no coinciding ancient aliens press conference, is proof enough that it is a wheel mark.

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

This shit belongs in the 9/11 conspiracy thread. :\

I don't think anyone is saying that they are actually by aliens..

When Nasa finds proof that ancient aliens are real, it's not going to be the sort of thing that slips out accidentally in a picture that they didn't notice. There will be press conferences and all that. The mere fact that we see the picture with obvious squares in it, and no coinciding ancient aliens press conference is proof enough that it is a wheel mark.

Actually, who is to say that such information would be released? I could imagine mass hysteria as peoples' myopic viewpoints are shattered. Hell, if I ran a govt. and found out I don't think I would inform the 'little people.' What's the point? Half would go crazy, and it may expand the minds of the other half to see through their antiquated views of nationalism.

 

[Insane Metal]

You can see part of the pointy tread on the wheel pointing at the bricks, and a straight tread above it.

The brick pattern is from this part, or aliens.

That's it, imo. The square goes further into the dust than the rest, hence the track. And only that part appeared because the wheel was stuck somewhere. Makes total sense to me.

 

[nubbe]

I believe

This brick techonology looks vastly superior to ours

 

[fallout]

I don't think anyone is saying that they are actually by aliens..

Poe's Law.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

what happened to the science minded in this thread, I stepped into an episode of Art Bell?

 

[Insane Metal]

I need to put this to rest, it's wheel tracks:

Example A:

lower right

http://i.imgur.com/3vgUR.jpg


Example B:

lower left

http://i.imgur.com/JLFRB.jpg

The wheel was raised by a small rock and just as it was about to pass it, there was another one, but it was enough to leave a "footprint" in between them...

Thanks. Anyway, I did this, with Comic Sans for better scientific accuracy

 

[Gorgon]

I read on space.com that it's another thing about methane. They're carefully going over the data just to make sure it's not a sample from Earth.

I don't think so. The news is this:

MSL Principal Investigator John Grotzinger said a recent soil sample test in the SAM instrument (Sample Analysis at Mars) shows something ‘earthshaking.’

Sound like confirmation of organics to me, wich were expected to exist on Mars but were never found. This is probably the confirmation of organics. I wouldn't call "earthshaking" by any means, though. Unless...were talking about more complex organics that cannot be explained by asteroid/cosmic dust/cometary impact and seem to point to life present or past.

Giving NASA's tendency for lousy marketing, I'll stick with simple organics for the time being.

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

Poe's Law.

Touché.

 

[lilbaby Jesus]

what happened to the science minded in this thread, I stepped into an episode of Art Bell?

No sir, this is a Taco Bell.

 

[speculawyer]

Damn, a nice new picture from the MSL website today, an awesome panoramic view!

HUGE IMAGE! 13726 x 3008 - http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/708550main_PIA16453-FigA_sol6_from_Rocknest_raw.jpg

The above image is close to what the human eye would see without Mars' atmosphere. The huge image is real color.

The big image is awesome. And it really goes to show you how much life changes the planet it inhabits. People that think we can't appreciably change the climate are sorely mistaken . . . our entire planet has been completely changed by life . . . the atmosphere, the landscape, the minerals that exist, the composition of the ocean, . . . . all of it.

 

[Ikael]

Considering that NASA is more prone to irrational hype than Molineaux himself, I would guess that the "Earth shaking" announcement would consist of the detection of organics, which is what SAM came to chek on the first place.

 

[Clydefrog]

Who here has the burden of proof? Naturalistic and mechanical hypothethis are the only ones that are not only likely, but possible.

Stratum formation + erosion could make something like this, however unlikely that scenario can be, it is still more likely than Alien bricks.

Edit: looks guys there came to earth too!

I hope the top left one is in Nevada

 

[Gorgon]

REALITY CHECK regarding announcement:

Jet Propulsion Laboratory spokesman Guy Webster clarified the nature of the pending announcement in an e-mail to TIME magazine:
"As for history books, the whole mission is for the history books," he wrote. That's not to say he rules out the possibility of truly big news. "It won't be earthshaking," he said in a later phone call, "but it will be interesting."


And as for the scoop the NPR reporter and [Huffington Post] announced? "John [Grotzinger] was excited about the quality and range of information coming in from SAM during the day a reporter happened to be sitting in John’s office last week," Webster wrote. "He has been similarly excited by results at other points during the mission so far."

http://science.time.com/2012/11/20/a-mars-announcement-for-the-history-books/

Probably confirmation of organics. That's big in itself for Mars science but hardly "earthshaking".

 

[Steelrain]

REALITY CHECK regarding announcement:



http://science.time.com/2012/11/20/a-mars-announcement-for-the-history-books/

Probably confirmation of organics. That's big in itself for Mars science but hardly "earthshaking".

Knew it.

 

[Insane Metal]

Uh that was posted already. If not in this thread, in the other (regarding the news). But I guess it's right to post for those who haven't seen it yet.

We'll have to wait.

 

[Gorgon]

Uh that was posted already. If not in this thread, in the other (regarding the news). But I guess it's right to post for those who haven't seen it yet.

We'll have to wait.

Post the link to the other thread, I didn't find it before. Thanks.

 

[Insane Metal]

Post the link to the other thread, I didn't find it before. Thanks.

http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=44794924&postcount=394

I didn't mean to be rude, if I did it I'm sorry! :/

 

[Gorgon]

http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=44794924&postcount=394

I didn't mean to be rude, if I did it I'm sorry! :/

No worries, I didn't take it that way

Thanks for the link.

 

[Neuromancer]

REALITY CHECK regarding announcement:



http://science.time.com/2012/11/20/a-mars-announcement-for-the-history-books/

Probably confirmation of organics. That's big in itself for Mars science but hardly "earthshaking".

Someone got to him.

 

[Sec0nd]

The whole 'Alien brick' thing is pretty ridiculous.

 

[akira28]

The whole 'Alien brick' thing is pretty ridiculous.

Yeah what the fuck is going on here? I really can't.

 

[Insane Metal]

Guys the brick thing was just fun, come on. Nobody was serious

 

[fierrotlepou]

"One for the history books. Mimimimimi. Blablablabla."

Come on, NASA. We have a lot of respect for you, there's no need to really prove yourself to us or anything. Why would you do this to us?

They're acting like certain game companies who make fanboys wet with announcements only to make sure that they're inconceivably dry when the actual announcement is made.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

That huge image on page 94 screwed the formatting on my iPad browser.

So anyways what's the skinny on the methane... Biological or geological?

 

[Gorgon]

That huge image on page 94 screwed the formatting on my iPad browser.

So anyways what's the skinny on the methane... Biological or geological?

You seem to be out of the loop. There is no new data on methane.

 

[Globox_82]

Would it be possible to terraform Mars in distant future?

 

[equap]

Would it be possible to terraform Mars in distant future?

why wouldn't it be?

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/07/mars

 

[ElectricBlue187]

What about the problem of solar radiation? Won't it take a really long time to build up enough ozone to block it?

 

[GaimeGuy]

That looks like way too short a timescale, equap :/

 

[Gorgon]

What about the problem of solar radiation? Won't it take a really long time to build up enough ozone to block it?

It would also need some protection against cosmic rays, since there is no magnetic field.

 

[equap]

That looks like way too short a timescale, equap :/

that's the latest terraforming plan that I could find. why you think it's way too short?

 

[PjotrStroganov]

The lack of gravity would cause a constant seeping of atmosphere into space.
Radiation.

 

[Grym]

new press conference will begin in <10 minutes

http://www.ustream.tv/NASAJPL

UPCOMING EVENT: Curiosity Rover Update
9 a.m. PT (12 p.m. ET) on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012

The next news conference about the NASA Mars rover Curiosity will be held in San Francisco at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Rumors and speculation that there are major new findings from the mission at this early stage are incorrect. The news conference will be an update about first use of the rover's full array of analytical instruments to investigate a drift of sandy soil. One class of substances Curiosity is checking for is organic compounds -- carbon-containing chemicals that can be ingredients for life. At this point in the mission, the instruments on the rover have not detected any definitive evidence of Martian organics.

The Mars Science Laboratory Project and its Curiosity rover are less than four months into a two-year prime mission to investigate whether conditions in Mars' Gale Crater may have been favorable for microbial life. Curiosity is exceeding all expectations for a new mission with all of the instruments and measurement systems performing well. This is spectacular for such a complex system, and one that is operated so far away on Mars by people here on planet Earth. The mission already has found an ancient riverbed on the Red Planet, and there is every expectation for remarkable discoveries still to come.

For more information about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl

 

[Fenderputty]

why wouldn't it be?

Lack of magnetic field to protect life from soloar radiation?

EDIT: beaten.