http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-RTO-romta&idq=/ff/story/0002%2F20041221%2F1410272560.htm&sc=romta


Yeah, I just read this, it sais that an unknown "someone" or "something" has been cleaning the solar panels on a mars rover. I'm amazed this isnt headline material. They dont say anything about it being anything but "someone" or "something".

wtf mate. . . . :m:

Why should it be headline material? Have you heard of wind? And in regard to the 'or someone' have you heard of humour?

If my response seems a little acerbic you may attribute that to the more bizarre implication one could place on you making the observation in the first place. I apologise if I have misread your intent.

I just thought it was interesting. It's not everyday you see an article about "someone" or "something" tampering with mars rovers. I suppose it could be humor. So if it is, excuse me for jumping to an extreme conclusion.

Certainly interesting, and good news. The Rover's have already exceeded their design life, so this should push one of them even further. I suppose I was questioning it meriting front page status. (Although I'd sooner see Mars in headlines than most of what appears there.)

Thats what I'm talking about. I dont really give 2 shits about what gilligan thinks of the captain guy. Its rediculous what people are watching these days.

its a serious article, however frost, gravity, and wind the only ones doing it, unless the green dudes are nocturnal :confused:

Yes, the article is serious, the reference to "someone or something" is humorous. Only one of the rovers has benefited. A comparison of the two sites and the rover activities may shed some light on the cause(s).
Here's a thought. I believe there is a reasonable chance that the Viking landers in 1976 detected life. For those of you unfamiliar with this possibility, here is a good starting place:
http://www.biospherics.com/mars/
This is an extract from the site:
In 1997, Biospherics' President and CEO,
Dr. Gilbert V. Levin, announced his new conclusion that his 1976 Viking Labeled Release (LR) life detection experiment found living microorganisms in the soil of Mars.
Objective application of the scientific process to 21 years of continued research and to new developments on Mars and Earth forced this conclusion. Of all the many hypotheses offered over the years to explain the LR Mars results, the only possibility fitting all the relevant data is that microbial life exists in the top layer of the Martian surface.