Pegasus Research Consortium

Fossils on Mars - A Collection of Evidence

This thread has been recreated from our old forum and Russo has given his time to help me move the posts and data to this site.  I have gone through each one to edit them for continuity and errors generated by the move, like image locations etc. At the end of the relocated posts I will make a marker that will indicate all new material comes after that marker. Thanks to Russo for the effort in this endeavor.

Below is a fresh water frozen lake in a crater on Mars found by the ESA. I find it amazing that few people on other forums are aware of this find and still argue whether or not there is water on Mars  :o. I will cover the water and other Martian anomalies in other threads, but in a thread about possible fossils on Mars, I thought starting with a Martian lake would be appropriate.  8)


(http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/crater-ice.jpg)

Fossils on Mars - A Collection of Evidence

Okay time to get serious... :D

I have been planning to put this all on one thread for some time, though we have shown examples in several threads.

I have a lot of material on this one so please refrain from posting until I get it all posted so it won't interrupt the flow... This will take me awhile to pull all the related files and double check the links etc... Thanks for your patience

This thread was originally created as a challenge by some skeptics at that other site regarding the creation of a serious thread in contrast to the usual 'sensational titles' that draw the crowd. Well I did a test... ran two sensational titles and this one. While this one recieved 3 applauses from staff, it barely made it past page one of replies, in the same time the other two threads hit 15 pages each. And guess what? Those who challenged me never even stopped by.

About 6 months later one moderator asked me why I don't do a thread on Martian fossils...

::)

Exhibit 1

Gusev Crater Spirit Rover Sol 386
Lichen Like Fossil

Microscopic Imaging Camera and the RAT abrasive tool

In the image below you will see a circle cut into the rock by the RAT and in the center is a very interesting object. I have added two items from Earth for comparison.

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Lichen/001.jpg)

Here is the original source

NASA Rover Gallery (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/m/386/2M160631572EFFA2K1P2936M2M1.HTML)

And the full size image (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/m/386/2M160631572EFFA2K1P2936M2M1.JPG)

Fossil Flower on Earth

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Lichen/002a.jpg)

Lichen on Earth

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Lichen/003a.jpg)

In another frame you can see two more circular 'fossils' (in the boxes) that have not been drilled...

Opportunity Rover
Endurance Crater Sol 125
Corals?

Highlighted in yellow boxes

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Lichen/1m139283564eff2829p2976m2m1.jpg)

NASA Rover Gallery (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/m/125/1M139283564EFF2829P2976M2M1.HTML)

Full image... (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/m/125/1M139283564EFF2829P2976M2M1.JPG)

Continued next post...

Exhibit 2

Opportunity Rover Digs for Fossils
Sol 30 to Sol 33

The Famous "Rotelli Fossil"

One of the most famous anomalies talked about is the "Rotelli" fossil. It was found in these images and is one of the best case samples for life on Mars to date. It was called "rotelli" because of its shape, looking like rotelli pasta on Earth.

The name of this one was coined by NASA so don't shoot the messenger :P

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/23131827.jpg)

Okay now that you have had your laugh (don't forget the "Blueberries" another NASA name), lets get on with it...

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/Clip_004a.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/Clip_004b.png)

Some of the images containing the 'fossils' are listed below. Opportunity spent several days drilling in this area.

1M130859833EFF0454P2959M2M1.JPG
1M131117213EFF0454P2953M2M1.JPG
1M131117272EFF0454P2953M2M1.JPG
1M131117332EFF0454P2953M2M1.JPG

NASA SOL 30 (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity_m030.html)

NASA SOL 33 (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity_m033.html)

Below I have highlighted several interesting areas as well as two drill marks.

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/More_001.png)

There are many other samples that we found in these images and a few are highlighted below... a "Rotelli" and a "Turritella"....

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/Clip_005a.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/Clip_005b.png)

Three very good specimens of  "Turritella"....

Earth specimen for comparison

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/Turritella.png)

Raw Clip...

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/Clip_002a.png)

Highlighted clip

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/Clip_002b.png)

Direct Comparison

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/Clip_002d.png)

According to NASA

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/hf_mars_rotini_040301_02.jpg)

A close-up of the Last Chance rock after it was RAT-treated reveals a tiny spiral-like object (red arrow), likened to curved macaroni, set in a texture that itself is "mysterious". The object may be a cutting artifact of the abrasion tool or it may be a natural, intrinsic component of the rock. Among speculatiions: it is a fossilized organism, but that view is quite tentative. However, some "optimists" are already claiming to see 'nebulous' evidence of other life forms. Visit this MER fossils website for a pictorial summary of such conjectures.

NASA (http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect19/Sect19_13b.html)

Exhibit 3

Despite this bombardment, very primitive life had already formed by 3.5 billion years ago. To the  left are micro bacteria fossils of this age (used as the standard against which to judge the claims for micro bacteria in the meteorite from Mars). (J. W. Schopf, http://www.astrobiology.ucla.edu/)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Rotelli/microfos.jpg)

SOURCE: University of Arizona (//http://SOURCE:%20University%20of%20Arizona)

Exhibit 4

Spirit Rover Sol 1144
The Case for Turritellas

The image below is reduced so go get the full size version

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/2p227920966effas4jp2436l5m1_700.jpg)

Full Size... (http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/p/1144/2P227920966EFFAS4JP2436L5M1.JPG)

Spirit Rover on Sol 1144 (http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/p/1144/2P227920966EFFAS4JP2436L5M1.HTML)

I also have a false color version available... created from the filters..

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Soll1144_Spirit_001_700.jpg)

Full size... (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Soll1144_Spirit_001_Full.jpg)

ArMaP first pointed this one out to us in one of Mike's threads... He saw a hand but I will let him talk about that one ;) My interest is in the turritellas for this thread.

Quote"I have found a "critter" too!
See in this image, it looks like a hand or a paw trying to get from under the rocks in the middle of the image, to the right. But that does not mean that I think it is a fossil or even a living creature, but that I find this rock even stranger than the others, I really do." - ArMaP

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Claw_001.png)

Clips

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Soll1144_Spirit_001.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Soll1144_Spirit_001_Turritella.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Soll1144_Spirit_001a.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Turritella_Mike_001.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Turritella_Mike_001a.png)

The conical spirals are very clear in this clipping. These two specimens are just below ArMaP's "hand"

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Turritella_002.png)

The conical spiral of a "Turritella" specimen in the center, with an interesting hexagonal piece beside it. This one is above and to the right of the "hand"

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Turritella_003.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_1144/Turritella_003a.png)

Hexagonal fossil on Earth

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Fossil_Crinoid_Hexagonal.jpg)

Continued next post...

Exhibit 5

NASA Evidence From Mars

Some time ago I found a NASA presentation given at a Science symposium by Chief Scientist Dr Jim Garvin...

I am going to add it here as intermission... and to show that NASA does play tricks on us all...

Here is the opening...

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Toons/Photo_Op_01.png)

The image above is taken from a NASA Power Point Slide Presentation on Life on Mars....  The Cartoon is funny, but its also an "In Your Face" comment directly from NASA...  Below is the entire slide from the presentation.

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Toons/NASA_PDF_01a.png)

"NASA Searching for life on Mars. Are we Ready?" - Jim Garvin

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Toons/NASA_Life_01.png)

Also in the presentation for the scientists were two images I found fascinating

THE GARVIN TRILOBITE

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Humphrey/Clip02.png)

THE GARVIN ARTIFACT

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Clip01.png)

Pretty amazing images yes? Here is the slide they were on..

"Scientific outcomes can be largely unknown" - Jim Garvin

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Toons/NASA_Fossils_02.png)

Now ArMaP and I did extensive work to identify these two anomalies, because quite obviously coming from NASA these would be quite a spectacular discovery... After months of looking ArMaP found "White Boat Rock" (the one with the artifact) (Humphrey was easy to find)

Only problem is when we got the high res images and the color set.. THERE WAS NO FOSSIL or ARTIFACT... at least in the copies we had access to.

SO that means either they were removed... OR the presentation was a deception. As nothing in the presentation indicates it was a 'joke', and the fact that Dr Jim Garvin refuses to answer any emails (at least from us :P ) it presents a dilemma 

Doctored Photos? or Deliberate Obfuscation?

Well since I found Sojourner out in the Desert behind Johns house last year...

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Color/Lander_01.jpg)

::)

The work and images that ArMap and I did on these two items is here..
EVIDENCE FROM NASA (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/02files/Mars_Images_23.html)

The file that the slide were from is here
NASA: Dr Jim Garvin  - Mars_Search for Life Slide_Presentation PDF

GARVIN PDF (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/03PDF/NASA_Garvin_Moon_Mars_Slide_Presentation.pdf)

Continued next post...

Exhibit 6

Much Ado about Fossils
Opportunity :: Microscopic Imager :: Sol 034

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Hoagland/1M131201538EFF0500P2933M2M1_crop.JPG)

The image above is one of the best case images so far for fossils in Martian rocks. This one was posted on Richard Hoagland's site Enterprise Mission and he goes into great detail on issues surrounding this discovery. Below we have highlighted the three main areas of interest... From my years of experience hunting fossils in the field I would say these were indeed fossils... looking exactly like round corals embedded into the rock.

Full size image from NASA (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/m/034/1M131201699EFF0500P2933M2M1.JPG)

NASA ROVER GALLERY (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/m/034/1M131201699EFF0500P2933M2M1.HTML)

Highlighted main objects of interest

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Hoagland/1m131201538eff0500p2933m2m1_a_clip.jpg)

Opportunity also took a second set of three images on that day... It too has a drill...  Now this is where I have to disagree STRONGLY with Hoagland..

The image below was taken on the same day, and shows three RAT drill holes roughly in the same configuration as the above fossils...

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Hoagland/1M131212713EFF0500P2959M2M1_900.JPG)

It is Hoagland's contention that NASA deliberately destroyed the three fossils to cover it up...

First of all let me touch on that issue... IF NASA had ground a fossil to dust... this would be a GOOD thing, as its on board analyzers could then determine if compounds were in the material that indicated organic chemicals... and where there is one fossil there would be thousands... just look at any well known fossil site on Earth where they literally weather out of the host rock and just lie around for the picking

But if you look at both images two things pop up... the texture of the rock is totally different and the holes, while similar, do not match exactly.

NASA ROVER GALLERY (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/m/034/1M131212713EFF0500P2959M2M1.HTML)

Here is Hoagland's presentation

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Hoagland/Fossil.700.jpg)

ENTERPRIZE MISSION (http://www.enterprisemission.com/_articles/03-20-2004_Ignoring_Fossils_On_Mars/IgnoringFossilsOnMars.htm)

This is the kind of stuff that hurts us all... even non experts in rock can see the texture difference

It even comes with two cartoons by Steve Troy..

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Hoagland/cartoon_1.jpg)
© 2004 Steve Troy with permission

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Hoagland/cartoon_2.jpg)
© 2004 Steve Troy with permission

And just for the "Its only Rocks" crowd... my daughter spotted this one and colored it... pretty amazing actually... makes one wonder who has..

The Last Laugh
What? ANOTHER Face on Mars?

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Hoagland/Witch_001.png)

Continued next post...

Exhibit 7

This is an old one... first presented by Joseph Skipper at
http://www.marsanomalyresearch.com/

He had circle the two 'skulls' and when I pulled the original files I spotted several other pieces that had the look of bones and fragments of bones...

Here is the clip from the best image...(it appears in several in the set)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars/2P127793693EFF0327P2371L7M1.JPG)

Here is the full size.. (http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/p/016/2P127793693EFF0327P2371R1M1.JPG).

NASA ROVER GALLERY (http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/p/016/2P127793693EFF0327P2371R1M1.HTML)

In the following clip the Green circles are Skippers, the white are mine (best pieces) and the yellow are maybes

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars/Fossils.jpg)

Later on as this area was studied by several people Papajake colorized the individual pieces..

Fossils Revisited

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Fossil_Field_Colorized.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Fossil_Field_Detailed.jpg)

Quoteposted by Papajake, a member of ATS on 21-3-2007 @ 11:03 AM THIS POST (http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread273290/pg6#pid3049763)
"I started colorizing what I thought might be fossils, but there was so many that I just stopped. Nearly the whole photo looks like a fossil field mixed with dirt and rock."

Closeup Clips

This is one of the best samples in the above image because you can see the porous nature of the "bone" fragment

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/001.png)

This one is round as well as curved along its length. There are branches and the end gives indications of it being hollow

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/002.png)

Similar piece, also round, a feet inches away from the one above. There is a third piece a little more to the right, partially buried

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/003.png)

"Diapsida Skull"

Now this one has to be by far one of the best pieces of evidence of past life on Mars... nostril holes, eye sockets and beak...

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/004.png)

"Diapsida Breastbone"

Best description I can think of... :P

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/007.png)

More interesting fragments...

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/005.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/008.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/006.png)

Gilmoreteius Skull

This specimen was found in the Gobi Desert fossil fields

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Gilmoreteius_a.jpg)

And yes they DO just lie around on the surface in a desert as the wind blows away the sand and erodes the harder fossils out of the stone... same with shale rocks where water erodes the softer stone leaving the fossils behind

Guillermo Rougier hunts for early mammal fossil in Mongolia's Gobi Desert

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Gobi_Fossil_002.jpg)


THE END

For now :D

8-)

reply to post by Vector J (http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread386185/pg1#pid4889459)

Ah yes this could quite possibly be true... and could easily have been addressed with a short reply to emails  at a site that LISTS his email for questions :P

Now it is also possible that my 'reputation' precedes me though I have gotten replies from the HiRise team...

Perhaps some else would have better luck?

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/banners/garvin_sm.jpg)

Dr Jim Garvin

PRESENT POSITION:
    Geoscientist/Topographic Remote Sensing specialist and Project Scientist, Earth System Science Pathfinder Project at NASA's GSFC, Geodynamics Branch, Lab for Terrestrial Physics

    CURRENT ACTIVITIES:
    Chief Scientist, Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA)
    Project Scientist, ESSP
    Co-Investigator, MOLA Experiment, Mars Global Surveyor
    Principal Investigator, Landscape Monitoring of Iceland using RADARSAT
    Principal Investigator, Topo. Monitoring of Mt. Rainier

http://core2.gsfc.nasa.gov/personal_pages/garvin/garvin.html (http://web.archive.org/web/20100527173641/http://core2.gsfc.nasa.gov/personal_pages/garvin/garvin.html)

QuoteOriginally posted by Blaine91555
I may be wrong but that looks like it has been manipulated, added or enhanced.

Yes that was the whole point it WAS manipulated but until we found the originals to look at we had no way to know this...

Since the images are in the NASA presentation at the time there was only NASA's word... with no explanation

Now to have put all the data and full images into the thread would not have fit so I linked to THIS PAGE (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/02files/Mars_Images_23.html)

That has all the data, all the links to the original images we found and worked with. The reason I create the pages is so I don't have to repost it every time and slow down the thread loading anymore than I already do

Sadly few ever follow the links...

The point on this was that the presentation was not for the public in general but for a science symposium. I found it by fluke originally...

So was this done as a joke for the presentation, was it done to 'muddy the waters', or are the images we did find edited? Since there was no image # provided in the NASA paper... it took a long time to find them.  Thanks to ArMaP for tracking them down

The rock 'Humphry' is a chuck of Basalt... its black that has been whitened and polished smooth by wind... As such there could be no fossil in it as basalt is volcanic not sedimentary...

So why did they chose to present it in that way? One image showing an obvious fossil Trilobite and the other an artifact?

I would have loved to hear that presentation :D

QuoteOriginally posted by darkraver
cause rovers and landers up there don't even have the real organic analyzing apparatus to my knowledge...
at least not those that the general public knows of...

Well not quite true my friend  ;)

Couple notes passed on to me from someone 'in the field'

"The Lunar Ranger utilized alpha-scatter identification capability along with LLRI capability used to determine soil composition... "

"For example, the Mars Rover (Spirit) is actually a micro-mining laboratory, complete with (2) spectrometers and other processing equipment/instrumentation. "

QuoteScientists today reported initial impressions from using Spirit's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, Mössbauer spectrometer and microscopic imager on a patch of soil that was directly in front of the rover after Spirit drove off its lander Jan. 15.

"We're starting to put together a picture of what the soil at this particular place in Gusev Crater is like. There are some puzzles and there are surprises," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the suite of instruments on Spirit and on Spirit's twin, Opportunity.

One unexpected finding was the Mössbauer spectrometer's detection of a mineral called olivine, which does not survive weathering well. This spectrometer identifies different types of iron-containing minerals; scientists believe many of the minerals on Mars contain iron. "This soil contains a mixture of minerals, and each mineral has its own distinctive Mössbauer pattern, like a fingerprint," said Dr. Goestar Klingelhoefer of Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, lead scientist for this instrument.

The lack of weathering suggested by the presence of olivine might be evidence that the soil particles are finely ground volcanic material, Squyres said. Another possible explanation is that the soil layer where the measurements were taken is extremely thin, and the olivine is actually in a rock under the soil.

Scientists were also surprised by how little the soil was disturbed when Spirit's robotic arm pressed the Mössbauer spectrometer's contact plate directly onto the patch being examined. Microscopic images from before and after that pressing showed almost no change. "I thought it would scrunch down the soil particles," Squyres said. "Nothing collapsed. What is holding these grains together?

in another clip we have this...

QuoteInformation from another instrument on the arm, an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, may point to an answer. This instrument "measures X-ray radiation emitted by Mars samples, and from this data we can derive the elemental composition of Martian soils and rocks," said Dr. Johannes Brueckner, rover science team member from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany. The instrument found the most prevalent elements in the soil patch were silicon and iron. It also found significant levels of chlorine and sulfur, characteristic of soils at previous Martian landing sites but unlike soil composition on Earth

http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20040120a.html

Well since I am currently out of fossils I will toss in a few other minerals into the pot...

Here is a picture of the salts stirred up using the Rover wheels as a digging tool..
Spirit :: Panoramic Camera :: Sol 788

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_788/Sol_790_2P196495704RADAQB6P2531L234567C1.JPG)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_788/Sol_790_2P196495704EFFAQB6P2531L234567M1.JPG)

Here is a specimen of Vesicular Basalt from the same location
Spirit :: Panoramic Camera :: Sol 736

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Spirit_Sol_728_Rocks/Sol_736_2P191701003RADANHEP2562L234567C1.JPG)

And here is a piece from Nevada in my collection - for color reference :P

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Color/Basalt_Vesicular.jpg)

And here are the Hematite nodules in sedimentary rock that NASA has labeled "Blueberries" :lol:  Gotta love those scientists eh?

Opportunity :: Panoramic Camera :: Sol 037

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Opportunity_Sol_037/1P131479514EFF0534P2536L5M1_L4L5L5L5L6.jpg)

A few close ups

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Opportunity_Sol_037/Blue_002.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Opportunity_Sol_037/Blue_003.png)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Opportunity_Sol_037/Blue_004.png)

Opportunity :: Panoramic Camera :: Sol 040

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Opportunity_Sol_037/Sol_040_1P131741800ESF0570P2542L234567M1.JPG)

But my absolute favorite is THIS one.. Mike Singh's MARTIAN SNAIL  :P

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Opportunity_Sol_037/Snail_001.png)

::)

8)

Here are similar ones on Earth

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars/Mars_Blueberries.jpg)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars/SF1.jpg)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars/SF2.jpg)

http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/02files/Mars_Images_04.html#Study

QuoteOriginally posted by bloodcircle
And to be honest, it looks like an old car door handle.

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/banners/doorhandlefr2.png)


HEY NOW Great find... thanks I do believe you are right :up:  I would say a pretty good match...  Mind if I clip that for reference? At least NASA has a sense of humor... something a few more here at ATS could use

::)

Egg found in Martian Meteorite

The Tissint Mars meteorite "egg"

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars5/Meteorite/egg_001.jpg)

QuoteSCIENTISTS claim this egg-shaped object is the final proof of life on Mars after finding it inside a meteorite from the Red Planet.

Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe said the globule from the rock named Tissint is rich in carbon and oxygen and insisted they could only have been produced by living organisms.

He added that they could not have been caused by contamination when they fell to Earth.

Prof Wickramasinghe, 72 — famous for controversial ideas such as that the flu virus and even life itself was brought to our planet by comets — said: "It is impossible to understand how carbon-rich particles of such uniform sizes and shapes got inside a rocky matrix if they are not relics of some algal species.

"Tissint was collected weeks after it fell, and terrestrial contamination seems unlikely. In any case the structures we found were on newly fractured surfaces, from the interior of the meteorite."

The meteorite was named after the village where it came down in the Sahara desert in Morocco last July.

http://meteorito-meteorite.blogspot.com/

DISCOVERY OF BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURES IN THE TISSINT MARS METEORITE

QuoteSummary. Preliminary SEM/EDAX studies of the Tissint meteorite shows projections of interior spherical globules rich in C and O. Such concentrations of carbonaceous material in a matrix of mineral grains poses a mystery if biological processes are excluded. They are consistent with remnants of biological structures, thus supporting earlier similar claims for the Mars meteorite ALH84001..

Key Words: Meteorites, Mars meteorite, panspermia, exobiology

The Tissint meteorite, identified as a meteorite from Mars, fell onto the Morrocan desert some 30 miles south of the village of Tissint on June 18, 2011. Shattered pieces of the meteorite were recovered in October 2011, and is only just coming to be analysed and studied. A thick fusion crust that surrounds the meteorite fragments give confidence in the assertion that the interior material is pristine and uncontaminated. Its mineralogic characterisation as olivine-phyric shergottite of Martian origin appears to be well accepted, with a most likely origin in a relatively young lava regolith that solidified 400-500 million years ago. The meteorite has been found to contain pockets of Martian atmosphere which also confirms its Martian origin

.

Official Paper:

http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC18/TissintFinal.pdf

Here is another copy of the image with size reference from Hortonheardawho

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7129365787_2eb8dbdb16_o.png)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortonheardawho/7129365787/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Official classification from LPI

[ex]Basic information    Name: Tissint
This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: There is no official abbreviation for this meteorite.
Observed fall: Yes
Year fell: 2011
Country: Morocco
Mass:help 7 kg
Classification - Recommended:  Martian (shergottite)
This is 1 of 86 approved meteorites (plus 1 unapproved name) classified as Martian (shergottite).[/ex]

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=54823

(http://i.space.com/images/i/14571/i02/tissint-mars-meteorite-2.jpg)
Another sample of a Martian meteorite from the Tissint fall, which dropped chunks of the Red Planet in the Moroccan desert in July 2011.
CREDIT: © 2011 Darryl Pitt / Macovich Collection

http://www.space.com/14268-rare-mars-meteorite-rocks-tissint.html

Quote"There's at least 11 kilos [24 pounds]," Pitt told SPACE.com.

Pitt said he had acquired more than 4.4 pounds (2 kg) of Tissint meteorites. He has been trading and selling pieces to collectors, museums and researchers around the globe, at prices ranging from $8,500 per ounce to $28,350 per ounce ($300 to $1,000 per gram), depending on the sample.

As of Tuesday, gold was selling for about $1,650 per ounce ($58 per gram).

"It's pristine material," Pitt said. "Five hundred dollars and $600 a gram for a freshly fallen chunk of the planet Mars? I'd say that's a deal."

Oh great.... just what I needed... some idiot driving up the price  (http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/smilies/flaming.gif) I was hoping to get a chunk before it went too high

::)

QuoteOriginally posted by fleabit
Fossils are rare.  Go take a walk sometime, even in an remote mountain, or hilly countryside, where not many folks go.  Look for fossils.  See how many you find.

:o You have GOT to be kidding me... You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.  Try turning off the computer and go out into the real world :D

Any place where you find limestone you will find TONS of fossils
Any place where you find shale you will find TONS of fossils

Gobi desert Dinosaur bones are just lying around on the surface eroded out of the rock by winds
Road cuts are great... and rain washes out new ones daily from the mud rock

Maybe you just don't know where to look... just ask the local rock hound group in your area. Best place is limestone quarries... just ask permission and go on a Sunday

Quote
They don't form on the surface.  Typically almost all are deposited as sediments by moving water.

Would you PLEASE stop spreading such disinfo... Ever heard of petrified wood? Its lying around all over the Arizona and Nevada desert. Those are tree fossils formed by silicas replacing the organic material. Opal beds same thing in Australia and Nevada the wood and sea shells are replaced by silica spheres...

THIS is the Gobi Desert... these people are picking up specimens just lying on the ground... dinosaur bones... I have a huge egg from the Gobi

(http://www.le.ac.uk/geology/wdc2/Gobi%20landscape.jpg)

National Geo did a special on that area skulls etc just lying on the surface

Sandstone Fish
Gobi desert

(http://www.fossilmall.com/Science/Sites/China/Stichopterus/4755A.jpg)

Same in Utah near Delta... pay the owner 20 bucks in a few hours you will have hundreds of dollars of specimens... same in the Trilobite beds in Delta

Here is a fossil just lying in the open on an eroding cliff

(http://kgov.com/files/images/science/polystrate-fossil-joggins-full.jpg)

Eroding cliffs reveal new fossils every year.

QuotePolystrate Fossils: In a thousand locations including the Fossil Cliffs of Joggins, Nova Scotia, polystrate fossils such as trees span many strata disproving the claim that the layers were deposited slowly over millions of years

If you are going to debunk at least know what you are talking about

QuoteThere is a reason that the most abundant fossils found on our own planet are marine fossils.

The reason is there are a lot of oceans and seashells reproduce in multitudes... but dino bones, petrified trees, etc are found all over the deserts in the US, China and other places  What is RARE is full specimens intact...

I am willing to bet you have walked on fossils and never noticed them. September is here and the rocks are cooler... time to go get more :P

This one is a maybe... but looks good so I will add it here

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s720x720/18017_299274273536560_159540335_n.jpg)

original NASA

(http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/p/482/2P169153230EFFAAB2P2417L7M1.JPG)

This just in!

This is a good one, best I have seen in some time. It isn't the RAT tool mark... this is actually embedded in the rock

(http://thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars4/Fossils/Gear_detail.png)

(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/all/1/m/3720/1M458433115EFFCEQKP2956M2M1.JPG)

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/all/1/m/3720/1M458433115EFFCEQKP2956M2M1.JPG

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/all/1/m/3720/1M458433115EFFCEQKP2956M2M1.HTML

Quote from: zorgon on March 01, 2017, 11:31:35 PM
This is a good one, best I have seen in some time. It isn't the RAT tool mark... this is actually embedded in the rock

It's not embedded in the rock because that's sand.

And yes, it's a mark of a screw from the robotic arm.

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10004/edited_version.jpg)

well,whatever it is appears to raised in the center, not an indentation...

Quote from: the seeker on March 02, 2017, 12:19:36 AM
well,whatever it is appears to raised in the center, not an indentation...

Yes, because it was made with this:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/MER_APXS_PIA05113.jpg)

Quote from: the seeker on March 02, 2017, 12:19:36 AM
(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10004/edited_version.jpg)

well,whatever it is appears to raised in the center, not an indentation...

That cross looks exactly like the blade on my meat grinder. Not saying it is. Please don't jump my s***.

Quote from: Irene on March 02, 2017, 12:42:20 AM
That cross looks exactly like the blade on my meat grinder.

I know what you mean, I have one of those. :)

Quote from: ArMaP on March 02, 2017, 12:26:50 AM
Yes, because it was made with this:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/MER_APXS_PIA05113.jpg)

I disagree, Armap, for there is exactly nothing in that pic you posted that even faintly resembles anything in that image; I am a tool and die maker,custom fabricator, among many other skills, used to reading engineered drawings and fabricating same;I repeat, there is nothing in that pic that even faintly resembles that image...

@Irene: it does look exactly like the cutter blade in a meat grinder  8)

(http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-18461728116681/weston-5-electric-grinder-knife-stainless-steel-model-82-0117-1.jpg)

Seeker

Quote from: the seeker on March 02, 2017, 12:47:44 AM
I disagree, Armap, for there is exactly nothing in that pic you posted that even faintly resembles anything in that image

Do you really think there's exactly nothing in common with both images?

(http://i.imgur.com/PSNUUgx.gif)

OK...

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10004/normal_MER_APXS_PIA05113.jpg)  (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10004/edited_version.jpg) Allright, after cropping the images and doing an overlay, I see what you are saying; but at the same time there are features of the embossed impression that do not match exactly that are demarcated by the black line that have no corresponding surfaces on the screw flange...

and I was examining the inner sections of the head assembly when I made my earlier statement...

8)

Seeker

Well it may satisfy our resident skeptic :P but I am not buying it.  The screw sits in a beveled countersunk recess...  it looks similar but is it the same size?

Okay back to fossil Hunting

Has Curiosity Found Fossilized Life on Mars?
There are compelling structures in a slab of sedimentary Mars rock, but their discovery alone won't prove there was ancient life on Mars.

Time and time again, as we carefully scrutinize the amazing high-resolution imagery flowing to Earth from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, we see weird things etched in Martian rocks. Most of the time our brains are playing tricks on us. At other times, however, those familiar rocky features can be interpreted as processes that also occur on Earth.

VIDEO: Did a Mars Meteorite Finally Reveal Life On Mars?

Now, in a paper published in the journal Astrobiology, a geobiologist has related structures photographed by Curiosity of Martian sedimentary rock with structures on Earth that are known to be created by microbial lifeforms. But just because the structures look like they've been formed by microbes on Mars, does it mean that they were?

Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures on Mars?

http://www.seeker.com/has-curiosity-found-fossilized-life-on-mars-1769435854.html

LOL The Seeker  dot Com?

::)

(https://assets.rbl.ms/5224012/980x.jpg)

QuoteThe image in question was snapped by Curiosity of the Gillespie Lake outcrop situated in the Yellowknife Bay area of Gale Crater that the rover arrived at on Dec. 17, 2012, on sol 125 of its mission. It was soon realized that the Gillespie Lake rock is sedimentary sandstone, formed when Mars possessed surface water. As such, there are many likenesses between the rocks found in Yellowknife and sedimentary rocks on Earth. For example, the layering of sedimentary rock and conglomerations contained within these layers led NASA scientists to realize that Curiosity is exploring an ancient lake bed.

(https://assets.rbl.ms/5224020/980x.jpg)
Overlay of sketch on photograph of Gillespie Lake to assist in the identification of the structures on the rock bed surface.
Noffke (2105)/ASTROBIOLOGY

QuoteIn her analysis, Noffke is keen to emphasize that she hasn't found proof of ancient Mars life, only that her hypothesis provides a compelling explanation for the formation processes behind the shapes in the surface of Mars sedimentary rock.

Ancient Sedimentary Structures in the <3.7 Ga Gillespie Lake Member, Mars, That Resemble Macroscopic Morphology, Spatial Associations, and Temporal Succession in Terrestrial Microbialites (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2014.1218?journalCode=ast)

"All I can say is, here's my hypothesis and here's all the evidence that I have," said Noffke in an Astrobiology Magazine article, "although I do think that this evidence is a lot."

There have been countless claims pointing to evidence of ancient life on Mars, many of which have since been proven to be, at most, wishful thinking, but this new study has garnered some cautious praise from planetary scientist Chris McKay, of NASA's Ames Research Center and an associate editor of Astrobiology.

Cannot find a free copy of this  perhaps mailing a request to the author might work

Nora Noffke
Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.
Address correspondence to:
Nora Noffke
Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA 23529
E-mail: nnoffke@odu.edu

NASA's Bold Plan to Hunt for Fossils on Mars

LOL well about time they caught up with us :P

QuoteA rover headed for the red planet will perform an unprecedented search for rocky remnants of dead Martians—so where should we send it?

QuoteBy Mark Strauss
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 17, 2016
Nearly four billion years ago, when Earth was coming alive, Mars was gradually choking to death. The thick atmosphere that had warmed the red planet was leaking into space, and plummeting temperatures caused Martian lakes and rivers to freeze, turning the wet surface into a dry wasteland.

But it's possible life took root in those early years. And very soon, a NASA robot will arrive at Mars with the goal of collecting rock samples that might contain ancient fossils, perhaps helping to answer one of humanity's most fundamental questions: Are we alone in the universe?

First though, would-be Martian fossil hunters will have to decide where, exactly, to send that robot.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/alien-fossils-nasa-exploring-mars-2020-space-science/

(http://mars.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00732/mcam/0732MR0031380000402998E01_DXXX-br2.jpg)
This image was taken by Mastcam: Right (MAST_RIGHT) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 732 (2014-08-28 05:23:21 UTC).

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

A Dinosaur Skull Found on Mars?
Curiosity on Sol 732 - Mastcam: Right 
2016-01-29 00:58:06 UTC

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars6/Curiosity/Curiosity_Sol_732/0732MR0031380000402998E01_DXXX-br2.jpg)

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Mars6/Curiosity/Curiosity_Sol_732/dino_001.png)

http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/02files/Mars_Images_82_Dino_Skull.html

3.7-billion-year-old fossil makes life on Mars less of a long shot

QuoteAnd you thought that slime in the bottom of your fridge was ancient.

Scientists have found the oldest known remnant of life, a fossil dating back a staggering 3.7 billion years. If confirmed, the date would support the theory that life took root in just a blink of an eye after the planet's birth. Such early life would also make life on Mars seem less of a long shot.

The newfound remains consist of a layer of rock that, to the untutored eye, looks, well ... like a layer of rock. Scientists say it's actually a stromatolite, a mineral structure created by the busywork of countless microorganisms. These microbes thrived in a shallow sea bathing a still young and fresh Earth, according to a study in this week's Nature.

Previous chemical analysis of old rocks hinted life arose by 3.7 billion years ago, but that evidence was open to question, says study co-author Allen Nutman of Australia's University of Wollongong.

"What we've done is produce something tangible," Nutman says, "an actual fossil record (that is) evidence for life at those times."

The researchers "were able to see evidence for life in a way that I had never expected," says Texas A&M University's Michael Tice, who was not associated with the study. "We have a much better window back in time, thanks to what these folks did."

The fossil was discovered in a barren stretch of Greenland that researchers have patiently explored for some three decades. Unusually heavy spring rains recently melted a longstanding snow patch, exposing a distinct layer of rock.

The rock layer contained a level bottom, but the top was jagged. Standing less than two inches high, the layer resembled a miniature mountain range in profile.

After having read extensively about such objects, "we immediately knew what we were looking at," Nutman says. That jagged top suggested not just a rock but a rock born of biology.

The rock's structure mimics that of a 2-billion-year-old object widely accepted as a stromatolite, says study co-author Martin Van Kranendonk of Australia's University of New South Wales. Chemical clues also hint that microbes played a role in the object's formation.

[/size]

(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/0ca6a5d145cb11f051abc9bf4c5bc8ec26eec34d/c=0-120-1022-888&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2016/08/31/USATODAY/USATODAY/636082368788074751-IMGP2901OK-1024x888.jpg)
Allen Nutman, left and Vickie Bennet hold a specimen of stromatolites dating back 3.7 million years from Isua, Greenland. (Photo: Yuri Amelin)

QuoteThe structure of the rocks around the fossil suggests it was bathed in seawater. Beyond that, the team knows nothing of the stromatolite's origins. Modern stromatolites — such as the famous mushroom-shaped examples at Australia's Shark Bay — are built by crowds of bacteria and other single-celled microbes. But the identity of whatever was living 3.7 billion years ago is obscured by the altered state of rock from that era, which over the eons has been cooked and twisted beyond recognition.

More study of the stromatolite is needed to confirm the fossil's identity, says Abigail Allwood of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, author of an accompanying analysis for Nature.

But if it is confirmed, "that says to me that life is not a fussy, reluctant, unlikely kind of thing," she says. "Give it half a chance, and it'll run with it." After all, asteroids had bombarded the Earth only 100 million years earlier, but life still blossomed, spread and grew sophisticated by the time the fossil formed.

Parts of Mars looked much like the area where the stromatolite took shape at roughly the same time, Allwood says. Until now, scientists wondered whether the lakes on Mars persisted long enough for life to spring up, but now, she says, "what we're potentially seeing is evidence that life can get a foothold in such a short time frame."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/08/31/37-billion-year-old-fossil-makes-life-mars-less-long-shot/89647646/