Mars Rover Spots Metallic 'Arm' Sticking Out Of A Rock

[The Straight Story]

Mars Rover Spots Metallic 'Arm' Sticking Out Of A Rock

here's another weird thing on Mars, and Nasa really doesn't know what it is this time.

You may remember the $2.5 billion Curiosity rover currently drilling rocks on the Red Planet already found strange shiny things and what was labelled a 'Martian Flower'.

But if anything, this is even weirder.

An image posted by Nasa on 30 January and taken with the right Mastcam on Curiosity shows what appears to be a 0.5cm metal spoke protruding out of a rock.

The strange sight - which looks a bit like a robotic arm - was noticed by imaging editor Elisabetta Bonora from Italy.

?6

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/07/mars-rover-spots-metallic-arm_n_2637990.html

[longship]

1. Can't wait to see what Richard Hoagland says.

NOT!!!

[Duer 157099]

17. Why wait?

I'm sure one can imagine quite easily what he'll say!

[Berlum]

35. "I told you so." - Richard H.

[snooper2]

2. A 5 mm robotic arm ROFL

That's what she thinks it is, and it's a story LOL

[The Straight Story]

3. It looks like a new monopoly piece to me

[HappyMe]

4. RUN!

It's space junk!

[Baclava]

5. It's that damn Roswell crap again, I predict a cover-up

crashing all over the solar system, can't they control them saucers?

[leveymg]

6. They look glass-like, and twinned like lenses. Volcanic glass is all over the place on Mars.

Last edited Fri Feb 8, 2013, 12:37 PM - Edit history (1)

Anyone have a photo of the metallic "flowers"?

[leveymg]

10. Here's a photo of the Martian "flowers" - again, looks like glass or quartz.

Last edited Fri Feb 8, 2013, 12:38 PM - Edit history (1)

[cliffordu]

7. My car keys!!! I wondered where they'd gone.....

Hope they find all my lost wool socks, too....

[pinboy3niner]

8. The Lilliputians say thanks, they were wondering where their Mars rover went. nt

[coalition_unwilling]

31. Nice! - n/t

[randome]

9. If it's truly anything artificial, might it be part of one of our previous failed Mars probes?

Or one of Russia's?

Or ( ) one of North Korea's?

[Junkdrawer]

11. Looks like a final scene from George Pal's "War of the Worlds"....

Remember the crawling arm making that last grab at air?

[warrior1]

12. how high is this in inches?

[SidDithers]

22. .5 cm is about 1/5 of an inch...nt

Sid

[warrior1]

25. thanks sid

the picture of this thing is miss leading to me. It's seems a lot bigger in that picture. So it's about as big as this dash - Correct? How did Rover see this thing?

[SidDithers]

26. You're right. Since there's no frame of reference, it does look a lot bigger than it is...

Sid

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. It's Data. N/T

[woodsprite]

14. Wall-e!!! n/t

[L0oniX]

15. Gort? Is that you? Just in case we forgot ...klaatu barada nikto n/t

[ladjf]

16. My guess is that it is a piece of metallic mineral. It's shape suggest that it was once involved

in high temperature volcanic activity. If I'm correct, many more of these will be discovered.

[slackmaster]

18. Weather balloon

Or marsh gas.

[leveymg]

23. Venus. Or a piece of the giant Martian glass tunnels they spotted years ago from orbit.

[Octafish]

33. Swamp Gas®

Or, reflections in the atmosphere.

[leveymg]

39. Prop from "The Invaders"

[Octafish]

44. I loved that show.

Being all thumbs, it scared the heck out of me.

[librechik]

40. Thank You leveymg. I'll see your glass tunnels

and raise you liquid water sites



and forests



(NASA imagery)

[leveymg]

48. Nah. That's just a "before" closeup photo from a Proactiv® skin cream ad. Here's another>

[Shadowflash]

19. I guess

I'll have to stay up late and listen to Coast to Coast AM to get the real story.......................

[LuckyTheDog]

20. It's obvious who's to blame

[hootinholler]

29. It's the "Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator"

Bugs took care of that one.

[leveymg]

37. I had a service advisor tell me that part was essential to the operation of a Volvo - only $831.98

without labor or taxes.

[hootinholler]

41. Ever price a flux capacitor?

Those things will run the bill up I tell ya. They contain unobtainium, very expensive.

[leveymg]

43. The later, earlier model will run on Miller High Life.

[hootinholler]

45. It just needs that for lube

Kinda like mixing oil in gas for a two stroke.

[leveymg]

51. Mr. Fusion will run on anything. Is that measured in Torr or Gigajoule?

[baldguy]

21. That's clearly the stick shift from a '74 Camaro.

The transmission has to buried there, too somewhere.

[LibertyLover]

54. Honest to the Gods, that's what I thought looking at the photo -

it looked like a transmission shifter. I'm not that into cars, so I wasn't able to get much more specific than that, although I did think it was probably an automatic transmission rather than a manual.

[XRubicon]

24. I knew I shouldn't have loaned my ball peen hammer to that green guy...

[KatyMan]

27. Look sir! Droids! n/t

[Earth_First]

28. Yes, but what does A. Jones say?!

[greytdemocrat]

30. Well...

[SidDithers]

32. Can't believe it took 30 posts in this thread before someone posted that...

Sid

[Rowdyboy]

34. Alas, poor Grovelbot! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest; of most excellent fancy;

Now forever lost in the robot graveyard in the sky......

[cleanhippie]

36. That is quite a leap to call it "metallic"! Shiny spots on a low-res pic do not a metallic object

make.

[librechik]

38. "You damned dirty apes!"

it's a part of the Martian Statue of Liberty, perhaps.

It could almost be something organic.

Another Mars WTF???? mystery I probably won't live to know the answer to...

[randomelement]

42. 3PO? n/t

[Lone_Star_Dem]

46. Maybe glass like mineral?

It's oddly pretty whatever type of deposit it is.

[On the Road]

47. Probably a Piece of Iron from an Asteriod

The rock eroded around it and left it sticking up, since it is a harder material. Erosion is mostly by wind, which polished the iron and left it shiny.

On earth the iron would oxidize very quickly, but free oxygen on Mars is extremely low. That may be why it looks so artificial.

[zappaman]

49. Why takes chances?

Let's blow the fucking thing up!
What does it contribute to the solar system anyway?

[The Straight Story]

50. Send a drone, could be a terrorist! (nt)

[zappaman]

52. I agree!

I don't want to wake up to this...




Blow it up!

[The Straight Story]

53. Or maybe we could just bring out the gimp

[baldguy]

58. .

[Blue_In_AK]

55. Ancient Aliens.

[Silent3]

56. I think that's reaching a bit.

So to speak.

[DireStrike]

57. That's not an arm, it's a finger!

No worries, probably just one of these:

[Baclava]

59. upon further review - - it looks more like a hood ornament to me