Mars monument 'proof of life'

Natzo · Aug 5, 2009

THIS mysterious monument could be proof there was once life on Mars.

The rectangular structure — measuring five metres across — was photographed by a super high resolution camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The giant monolith juts out of the planet's surface casting a huge shadow below.

Its emergence on website Lunar Explorer Italia has got space buffs speculating if it could have been constructed by creatures once living on the red planet.

Evolution

The monument resembles the black monolith seen in Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

In the movie the structure is believed to be a key to man's evolution.

And astonishingly Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, revealed a similar monolith was detected on Mars' moon Phobos.

Speaking last week, he insisted: "We should visit the moons of Mars.

"There's a monolith there - a very unusual structure on this little potato shaped object that goes around Mars once every seven hours.

Advertisement

"When people find out about that they are going to say, 'Who put that there? Who put that there?'"

But scientists at the University of Arizona have cast doubt on the discovery saying the huge object is a "boulder".

A spokesman for the university's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory said: "It would be unwise to refer to it as a 'monolith' or 'structure' because that implies something artificial, like it was put there by someone for example.

"In reality it's more likely that this boulder has been created by breaking away from the bedrock to create a rectangular-shaped feature."

taken from : the Sun :bitelip:

El Freako · Aug 5, 2009

"Oh look, its a thingy! There must be life on Mars!"

Tech · Aug 5, 2009

proving once again that NASA is a gigantic waste of taxpayers money.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter cost nearly $1 Billion alone. A billion dollars well spent. These "super high resolution" pictures are fascinating.

Zigurd · Aug 5, 2009

Nasa is a huge troll.

Hypocrisy86 · Aug 5, 2009

Well sure its wasting tax payer money..
but i'd rather find out if we're being attacked, or if some sats find some other life,. without them finding us here while on the ground.

Johnny5 · Aug 5, 2009

Looks like an iPod to me. See? It's recharging, the screen is lit up too.

The Creator · Aug 6, 2009

Yeah science is gay. Lets stop learning things about other planets

Tech · Aug 6, 2009

The Creator said:
Yeah science is gay. Lets stop learning things about other planets

I'm all for space exploration, but not if it's being paid for by American taxpayers.

NASA's annual budget is more than $17 Billion. Why should American taxpayers be forced to pay for it?

If space exploration is so vitally important, surely it would be able to continue without tax money, right?

Robcardu · Aug 6, 2009

Wow it must be a big ass camera!!

tim290280 · Aug 11, 2009

Natzo said:
THIS mysterious monument could be proof there was once life on Mars.

No scientist in their right mind would be making this claim based on that photo. The only reason they would make that claim is if the structure was likely to be formed by something like water or ice and that has been left out. Otherwise this is pure media BS.

Tech said:
I'm all for space exploration, but not if it's being paid for by American taxpayers.

NASA's annual budget is more than $17 Billion. Why should American taxpayers be forced to pay for it?

If space exploration is so vitally important, surely it would be able to continue without tax money, right?

Public good vs private good. This is public good, so public funds it. I'd agree if you were talking about other countries chipping in to help fund NASA, but then of course NASA would have to share which it is not renowned for.

We've learnt a lot about how the Earth formed from these sorts of studies. Plus science is great :borat:

MuscleMecca Crew

Pain · Aug 11, 2009

Hypocrisy86 said:
Well sure its wasting tax payer money..
but i'd rather find out if we're being attacked, or if some sats find some other life,. without them finding us here while on the ground.

We have Will Smith, your logic is flawed.

Tech · Aug 11, 2009

tim290280 said:
Public good vs private good. This is public good, so public funds it. I'd agree if you were talking about other countries chipping in to help fund NASA, but then of course NASA would have to share which it is not renowned for.

We've learnt a lot about how the Earth formed from these sorts of studies. Plus science is great

oh ok.

spending billions on NASA does the public good, all while the public are losing their jobs and homes.

yeah. superb logic.

lifterdead · Aug 11, 2009

oh ok.

spending billions on NASA does the public good, all while the public are losing their jobs and homes.

yeah. superb logic.

So instead the government should spend more money on welfare and public housing? Ironslave should have something to say about this.

That being said, I agree with Tim. It might seem like it has no immediate value, but it's vastly important that we learn about what's out there. It's our neighborhood, so to speak, and not making the effort to learn about it is pretty lame. Doing research for the sake of knowledge, without commercial incentive, isn't all bad.

:dunnodude:

Tech · Aug 11, 2009

lifterdead said:
So instead the government should spend more money on welfare and public housing? Ironslave should have something to say about this.

That being said, I agree with Tim. It might seem like it has no immediate value, but it's vastly important that we learn about what's out there. It's our neighborhood, so to speak, and not making the effort to learn about it is pretty lame. Doing research for the sake of knowledge, without commercial incentive, isn't all bad.

no, obviously the government shouldn't be involved with welfare and public housing.....but even the most libertarian-minded people are realistic. I know it's not ideal for the government to babysit the poor and sick, but if the two options are to spend the tax money on spaceships or hospitals for the sick and food for the homeless, then your damn right we should be spending the money on the poor and sick.

No one is disputing the fact that space exploration is exciting and we can learn alot from it. I'm simply saying that it should not be part of the federal governments job to pay for this shit. All we need to do is let private businesses do the exploring. Private businesses would have more incentive to do things right and faster. Private businesses aren't going to fuck around when it's their own money on the line, the same cannot be said for the publicly funded NASA program.

Big04pimpin · Aug 11, 2009

Tech said:
no, obviously the government shouldn't be involved with welfare and public housing.....but even the most libertarian-minded people are realistic. I know it's not ideal for the government to babysit the poor and sick, but if the two options are to spend the tax money on spaceships or hospitals for the sick and food for the homeless, then your damn right we should be spending the money on the poor and sick.

No one is disputing the fact that space exploration is exciting and we can learn alot from it. I'm simply saying that it should not be part of the federal governments job to pay for this shit. All we need to do is let private businesses do the exploring. Private businesses would have more incentive to do things right and faster. Private businesses aren't going to fuck around when it's their own money on the line, the same cannot be said for the publicly funded NASA program.

First, we are paying for a good amount of dumbass who thought they could afford a $300k house that is only worth $150k now. Not my fault they are too stupid to figure that one out. But that is another thread totally. (i hope they lose their house so my hard working friends can get them)

Also, I agree that we should do something about NASA and spending. It would still have to be public funded to some degree but checks and balances would need to be in place. I am sure Virgin Space (or whatever its called) isn't wasting money like NASA. They are in it to make money. We should sell our services to other nations too to recoup some of the costs. Like satellite launches, data gathering, samples, etc.

I would rather spend $17 billion on NASA then the "poor" like GM, the banks, and the rest of the people who make dumb business decisions.

lifterdead · Aug 11, 2009

no, obviously the government shouldn't be involved with welfare and public housing.....but even the most libertarian-minded people are realistic. I know it's not ideal for the government to babysit the poor and sick, but if the two options are to spend the tax money on spaceships or hospitals for the sick and food for the homeless, then your damn right we should be spending the money on the poor and sick.

No one is disputing the fact that space exploration is exciting and we can learn alot from it. I'm simply saying that it should not be part of the federal governments job to pay for this shit. All we need to do is let private businesses do the exploring. Private businesses would have more incentive to do things right and faster. Private businesses aren't going to fuck around when it's their own money on the line, the same cannot be said for the publicly funded NASA program.

I agree (in general) but I still believe that some useful research that gets funded by the government wouldn't be able to receive funds otherwise.

Bulkboy · Aug 11, 2009

Tech said:
no, obviously the government shouldn't be involved with welfare and public housing.....but even the most libertarian-minded people are realistic. I know it's not ideal for the government to babysit the poor and sick, but if the two options are to spend the tax money on spaceships or hospitals for the sick and food for the homeless, then your damn right we should be spending the money on the poor and sick.

No one is disputing the fact that space exploration is exciting and we can learn alot from it. I'm simply saying that it should not be part of the federal governments job to pay for this shit. All we need to do is let private businesses do the exploring. Private businesses would have more incentive to do things right and faster. Private businesses aren't going to fuck around when it's their own money on the line, the same cannot be said for the publicly funded NASA program.

u think a private company would have the resources or the willingness to conduct space exploration at that level?

think about all the good things that have come out of space research, like syntethic fibers and computers technology, satelites etc.

Tech · Aug 11, 2009

Bulkboy said:
u think a private company would have the resources or the willingness to conduct space exploration at that level?

yes, I do. If there is money to be made, a private company will figure it out. And if there is no money to be made, that should be a good sign that the public doesn't care enough to spend money on it.

think about all the good things that have come out of space research, like syntethic fibers and computers technology, satelites etc.

Name one "invention" that NASA has given us that you truly believe wouldn't have been thought of by a private company or person. And then ask yourself if those inventions are worth the $800 Billion we have spent on NASA over the last 50 years.

Bulkboy · Aug 11, 2009

Tech said:
yes, I do. If there is money to be made, a private company will figure it out. And if there is no money to be made, that should be a good sign that the public doesn't care enough to spend money on it.

going by this logic we should privatize the law and order sections aswell.

not everything can be handed over to the private sector. some things the government does better. for instance doing tasks where private owners wouldnt find it commercially attractive enough to invest in it. space exploration is such a field. and that is not a sign of it being unimportant. not everything boils down to money.

Tech said:
Name one "invention" that NASA has given us that you truly believe wouldn't have been thought of by a private company or person. And then ask yourself if those inventions are worth the $800 Billion we have spent on NASA over the last 50 years.

now ure just being hypotethical. ur just assuming that private companys would have thought of it. maybe they would, maybe they wouldnt. fact remains, it came out of government spending and research, and that to me is just a plus. on top of that it provides jobs, and further educate us about our surroundings.

Line · Aug 11, 2009

Natzo said:
The monument resembles the black monolith seen in Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

My first thought as well.

Mars monument 'proof of life'

Natzo

Elvira turns me on

El Freako

LIFT OR DIE

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

Zigurd

Mecca V.I.P.

Hypocrisy86

Mecca V.I.P.

Johnny5

Mecca V.I.P.

The Creator

Mecca V.I.P.

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

Robcardu

Mecca V.I.P.

tim290280

Mecca V.I.P.

MuscleMecca Crew

Mecca Staff

Pain

............

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

lifterdead

Mecca V.I.P.

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

Big04pimpin

Mecca V.I.P.

lifterdead

Mecca V.I.P.

Bulkboy

Mecca V.I.P.

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

Bulkboy

Mecca V.I.P.

Line

Chaos reigns.