Quote:A few hundred million miles away on the surface of the Red Planet, Mars rover Curiosity has photographed an unidentified, shiny, metallic object. Now, before you get too excited, the most likely explanation is that bright object is part of the rover that has fallen off — or perhaps some debris from MSL Curiosity's landing on Mars, nine weeks ago. There is the distinct possibility, however, that this object is actually native to Mars, which would be far more exciting. It could be the tip of a larger object, or perhaps some kind of exotic, metallic Martian pebble (a piece of metal ore, perhaps). Close-up imagery will now be captured and analyzed, and within the next few days we should know if it's simply a piece of Curiosity — or something a whole lot more exciting...

Quote:Checking a Bright Object on the Ground

"Curiosity's first scooping activity appeared to go well on Oct. 7. Subsequently, the rover team decided to refrain from using the rover's robotic arm on Oct. 8 due to the detection of a bright object on the ground that might be a piece from the rover. Instead of arm activities during the 62nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission, Curiosity is acquiring additional imaging of the object to aid the team in identifying the object and assessing possible impact, if any, to sampling activities.

Sol 62, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, will end at 12:23 a.m. Oct. 9, PDT (3:23 a.m., EDT)"

Quote:Object Likely Benign Plastic from Curiosity Rover

"Curiosity's main activity in the 62nd sol of the mission (Oct. 8, 2012) was to image a small, bright object on the ground using the Remote Micro-Imager of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument.

The rover team's assessment is that the bright object is something from the rover, not Martian material. It appears to be a shred of plastic material, likely benign, but it has not been definitively identified.

To proceed cautiously, the team is continuing the investigation for another day before deciding whether to resume processing of the sample in the scoop. Plans include imaging of surroundings with the Mastcam.

A sample of sand and dust scooped up on Sol 61 remains in the scoop. Plans to transfer it from the scoop into other chambers of the sample-processing device were postponed as a precaution during planning for Sol 62 after the small, bright object was detected in an image from the Mast Camera (Mastcam).

A Sol 62 raw image from ChemCam, at http://1.usa.gov/R1fZHt, shows the object in question just to left of center of the image.

Sol 62, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, will end at 12:23 a.m. Oct. 9, PDT (3:23 a.m., EDT)."

(10-12-2012, 03:28 PM)Patrick Wrote:

Quote:NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds More Shiny Objects on Mars

When NASA's Curiosity rover found a shiny object on Mars last week, researchers believed it was just part of the rover. But now, the rover has found more bright objects in Mars' soil, leading NASA officials to believe it is something native to the planet.

NASA sent commands to Curiosity Monday to take a third sample of soil from Mars to learn more about the shiny objects.

(10-09-2012, 03:41 PM)Cyan Wrote: Let the Mass Effect references flow freely.

Protheans?

(10-19-2012, 10:21 AM)spero Wrote:

(10-09-2012, 03:41 PM)Cyan Wrote: Let the Mass Effect references flow freely.

Protheans?

clearly a used thermal clip

(10-19-2012, 08:24 AM)zenmaster Wrote: Silica deposits (detected in 2007 and 2010) could be an explanation: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/11/silica-deposits-on-mars-could.html

Quote:The deposits contain the mineral hydrated silica, according to observations made by a spectrometer on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The mineral is transported and then concentrated by hot water or steam, suggesting the deposits were laid down in what was once a hydrothermal environment.

Groundwater may have been heated by magma from the erupting volcano and vented to the surface as steam, says John Mustard of Brown University in Rhode Island, a member of the team that identified the mineral.

(10-19-2012, 06:32 PM)Cyan Wrote: I look at this picture and...

Are you guys not seeing what I'm seeing?

That is one of the clearest examples of plastic i have ever seen.

Edit: http://post.jagran.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-may-be-littering-plastic-on-mars-1350473996 ahh and there we go.