Strange Object on surface of mars pictured by Phoenix Mars Mission

I noticed this strange shape that some of you may have noticed before on the surface some distance away from the Phoenix

Here we go!



I have always believed that Mars is tremendously significant. Of course, NASA will continue to do their best to make sure any curious anomalies are reasonably explained.

Since the lander landed not too long ago and the pictures are fairly new. Some kind of entry piece that fell off?

It could be a piece that fell off during the re-entry, but would it be stood so correctly up-right?

oh and if you look at the landing animation.. there are 2 pieces that detach itself from the phoenix as it enters the atmosphere, the parachute, and the bottom protetor for the burn from entering the atmosphere.. none of these parts are in the shape of said pictured object.

First picture I looked at this morning. As far as I know the last piece that was jettisoned before entering the atmosphere would have burned up on reentry. Unless the platform rolled itself into this figure. This couldn't be a part of lander. Could it?

Sorry waywardson you type faster than me!

[edit on 26-5-2008 by BlindWatcher1]

it actually looks like a bowling pin.. martian bowling anyone?

but seriously.. the problems I have with this object is that it is at an angle that suggests that there could be some of the object going into the ground in order to make it stand so upright, when it looks as if a slight breeze would make it lose its balance.

[edit on 26-5-2008 by thewaywardson]

There is a small hill immediately behind the object.

My guess would be the parachute cord draped over the rise, thus appearing to "stand up".

[edit on 5/26/2008 by eaglewingz]

It's the Backshell/Parachute, which is about 300m away and in the right direction. But don't let that spoil your fun. Tin Foil Hat Brigade, Chaaaarrge!!!

Photo of lander(5.5m span across solar arrays), heatshield (200m away) and backshell/parachute (350m away)
www.nasa.gov...

Photo Mosaic from lander - anomaly is at lower right distance)
www.nasa.gov...

It was only a matter of time wasn’t it….

I am thinking that if you spotted it and we can see it, then NASA would have seen it and investigated….if it was something of interest.

I don’t think it is much since so much of the planet is barren and phoenix just happened to land not far from an ‘object’ I would go with the debris option.

On the other hand, if you want to dig deeper, maybe this is why they chose that precise landing point?!?!? Only NASA will know for certain and they wont tell us anyway.

I seen this picture the other day on some t.v. program. To me, it looks like a small person wearing a jumpsuit.

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I agree that the image is almost certainly a part of the chute assembly and is draped over a slight rise in the topography, to create the illusion of an upright object.

In the mission desdign parameters, NASA must have taken care to make sure that this chute assembly landed far away from the craft, because otherwise, perhaps one of the interannual global dust storms, with windspeeds that can reach 400 MPH and a duration of months, could send the chute into the craft and entagle it with disastorus results.

I don't know much about the frequency or location of these storms, or the more localized dustdevils that blow up occasionally, but it seems logical to assume at least a part of these storms would reach into the polar regions due to similar temperature gradients that we have on our planet.

Does anyone here know more about that, and also what kind of windspeeds the sensitive parts of the craft - like solar panels and cameras - were designed to encounter?

If the global storms do indeed reach into the polar regions in their full fury, it seems that, even with the much thinner atmosphere, they could turn small rocks into shrapnel that could do a lot of damage.

Also, does anyone know the expected life of the craft, its proximity to the pole, and whether there will be long periods of night where it will be powered down during the Mars 687 day year?

MD

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I found answers to most of my own Q's here - in case anyone is interested.

www.psicomp.com...

A 400 MPH wind on Mars is similar to a 40 MPH wind here, due to the dramatic difference in in air density.

MD

reply to post by thewaywardson


Wow love that video, very well made.

Wish it had sound thou.

Where did you find this picture, so maybe we can find a high resolution one?

I'd go with the chute theory. Cetainly the most obvious. But I have seen white 'sprites' like these in rover pics as well. What are they? I have no clue. Perhaps some gaseous outwelling? More questions than answers.

This is all I can do until we get a higher quality picture.

I zoomed in and made it more clear. What do you guys think?







[edit on 29-5-2008 by _Phoenix_]

I have looked at this and I think the object must be pretty small and part of the landing debris - I dont think its that far away either just the jpeg artifacts make it look bigger maybe - anyone know the distance of the horizon from the landers point of view , my understanding is that mars is a small world so the horizon is much closer than on earth??

I guess my problem with the chute theory is why is it so upright? Why is it so luminous? Those questions allude me.