MartianCrabs.com
After careful examination of photos from Mars rover Opportunity, a strange object begs further study. This object appears to have two large, tentacle-like protrusions casting a shadow onto the slope of the crater in which Opportunity sits. The object is clearly not part of the outcrop of bedrock (also shown in the photo) because the color of the object is strikingly different from the exposed rock. There are no footprints in the soil around it, but there are noticeably darker regions on either side suggesting that it came up from under the sand.

Some possibilities to ponder:

  • It does not move and never has. This is not likely, since this item is missing in other photos of the same region.
  • It landed from above. Possible, but no additional evidence in the photo exists to support this beyond the lack of footprints. Maybe it jumps like a flea? Mars gravity is much less than Earth's.
  • It burrowed up from beneath the soil. Possible, given the pristine appearance of the surrounding soil except for the darker regions immediately next to the creature. An additional photo analysis of this effect can be seen here.

Examine the photo below and judge for yourself. Don't believe this is a real photo? Get the same image from NASA here.

What horrors await us on the angry red planet?
©2002 Jim Love, River Rock Studios. All rights reserved.