A Hypothesis : The Opportunity and Curiosity Mars Rovers

8/10/2019 A Hypothesis : The Opportunity and Curiosity Mars Rovers

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A Hypothesis : The Opportunity and Curiosity Mars Rovers are Situated on Earth

Author : Richard D. Hall

Research by Douglas ibson ! Richard D. Hall

November 2014

This is aDRA"Tdocument subject to review and update by those concerned.

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$. %#TROD&CT%O#

This document is a collection of evidence, which builds a hypothesis that,

;The Mars e


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similar, if not identical to those found on earth. &hult concludes that ars9s surface contains fossils.

#"ain, another eplanation for &chult9s evidence could be that the photo"raphs he has studied were

actually ta'en on %arth. !f somebody showed you a photo"raph of an %arthli'e fossil from &hult9s

boo', and as'ed you where the photo"raph was ta'en, would you say ars8, probably not. #s you will

see in this document there are a number of ima"es which have been published by N# from the

ars rovers which seem to contain objects common to the %arth. These objects are not usually

immediately obvious at first "lance. This could be because all ima"es are chec'ed before they are

published and therefore only small or semi concealed ima"ery slips throu"h the net, so to spea'. Thatsaid, in my opinion some of the ima"es are compellin" and su""est stron"ly they were ta'en from the

surface of the %arth.

"igure $ > )lanet Mars

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'. MARS E()*ORAT%O#

#s ars is easily visible to the na'ed eye it is not really possible to say when ars was discovered.

#fter the invention of the telescope in the 1:009s, +hristian -uy"ens in1:;< discovered features on

the planet, one of which was named &ytris ajor. !n 1=>> )iovanni &chiaparelli discovered what he

claimed were several lines crossin" each other and su""ested they were canals. #lso in 1=>> #saph

-all discovered the two small moons of ars and named them ?hobos which means fear and (eimos

which means panic, named after the horses which pull the chariot of the @oman )od, ars. !n the1 Su44ary o3 Success3ul Mars Missions

,ear Mission Agency Type Data ? "unction Status

1,*2< photo"raphs, =;E surface %nded C>2

11 ars 2F* &oviet Arbit :0 photo"raphs %nded C>2

1: Gi'in" 1 N# $ander &urface ima"es, soil samplin" %nded C=2

1: Gi'in" 2 N# $ander &urface ima"es, soil samplin" %nded C=0

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"igure + > )hotograph Sho@ing the Relative Sies o3 )ath3inder= Opportunity and Curiosity

!n this document we are "oin" to loo' mainly at ima"es from the two @overs that are alle"edly

currently active on the surface of ars, and also a small selection of ima"es from redundant missions.

The Apportunity rover has been active since 2004 and is still sendin" ima"es bac' to the %arth.

!ncredibly it has eceeded its operational planned life epectancy by over 10 years. #n identical rover,

&pirit, was launched in the same time frame, but communication was lost in ay 2011.

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+. O))ORT%T, RO-ER

"igure > Opportunity Rover

The vehicle has : wheels, each with its own independent electric motors. !t is steered by both the front

and bac' wheels and is desi"ned to operate safely on slopes of up to *0 de"rees. The solar panels can

"enerate 140 watts, which is not much more than an electric li"ht bulb, for 4 hours each day. Therover is powered by rechar"eable lithium ion batteries which provide the power for the motors and all

the e/uipment on board. These type of batteries are widely used on %arth in laptops, mobile phones

and power tools. The rovers operatin" temperature ran"e is I40 to J40 de"rees centi"rade.

@adioisotope heaters provide a base level of heatin" assisted by electrical heaters were necessary. The

avera"e surface temperature on ars is estimated to be I;; de"rees centi"rade. #t the e/uator the

temperature varies from 20 de"rees + down to I>* de"rees +. This is ** de"rees lower than the

minimum operatin" temperature of the rover. ! have not carried out detailed calculations on the power

system of this vehicle, but ! find it difficult to believe that lithium ion batteries, bein" char"ed by small

solar panels would 'eep all the devices on this rover powered for over 10 years. !t is claimed the

vehicle consumes only 100 watts of power when it is in operation. or comparison, a typical sewin"

machine uses 100 watts, a hed"e trimmer 4;0 watts and an electric drill >00 watts. The rover carries

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many instruments, batteries, solar panels, and moves usin" : electric powered wheels a"ainst harsh

environmental conditions, but only consumes the same amount of power as a sewin" machine. !t

wei"hs 1=; 'ilos, which is heaver than the wei"ht of two avera"e sied adults. Ta'in" into account

that "ravity on ars is only *.>1 mFsFs, which is 2.: times less than on %arth, the effective wei"ht of

the rover would be around >0 'ilos, which is about the wei"ht of a small adult. !n order to draw

another comparison, we can consider a mobility scooter, which when ferryin" a >0 'ilo adult on %arth,

will typically consume between *00 and :00 watts of power. The mobility scooter is desi"ned for

even surfaces such as pathways, whereas the Apportunity rover encounters uneven random terrain.(oes it seem plausible that 100 watts would be enou"h to power this device8 H and that batteries could

last over 10 years8

"igure / > Mobility Scooter > Typical )o@er ReBuire4ents + to 0 2atts

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. C&R%OS%T, RO-ER

"igure 0 > Diagra4 o3 Curiosity Rover

The other vehicle which is alle"edly currently active on the surface of ars is the +uriosity @over.

uch lar"er than its predecessor it is approimately the sie of a car. ?ower is provided by a radioisotope electric "enerator, hence there is no need for solar panels. !t is interestin" to note that the

Apportunity rover only had radio isotope heaters, not a radio isotope electric "enerator. Khile it seems

plausible that a radio isotope "enerator could provide enou"h ener"y to power the +uriosity @over, the

Apportunity @over seems unfit for purpose by comparison. urther research into the power

capabilities of radio isotope electric "enerators mi"ht ascertain whether such a device is capable or not

of powerin" a =


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/. MARS RO-ER -EH%C*E DE-E*O)ME#T A#D TEST%#

Khere were the ars rovers desi"ned, developed and tested8 They were developed by the Met

?ropulsion $abs which is situated in +alifornia. ost information which is publicly available appears

to be a publicity eercise, rather than revealin" detailed information about the desi"n, specification

and testin" of each component. Khere are the si"ned off test procedures which would show evidence

that detailed tests may have been carried out8 There are videos available produced by N# showin"

some alle"ed testin". Ane eample is the 6drop test, which was witnessed by the whole team whoproceeded to clap their hands on seein" the rover lowered to the "round on wires. &hort video

interviews are also available with certain team leaders eplainin" particular aspects of the

development phases. ! would epect the testin" to be carried out by a completely different part of

N#, or even another company. Ane very important principle in en"ineerin" desi"n and testin" is

that the "roup devisin" the tests should not communicate with or wor' with the "roup carryin" out the

desi"n. This is because it is possible for somebody to misinterpret the re/uirements, and if this

misinterpretation is passed to other members of the team, who are involved in preparin" the test

procedures, it can result in a desi"n which passes the tests, but fails to comply with the re/uirements.

&tandard en"ineerin" practice is to have an en"ineer or en"ineers read the re/uirements specifications,

who do not tal' to the desi"n team, and then devise test procedures to be conducted which determine

whether the product complies with the re/uirements. !n my eperience, a re/uirements documentwould typically contain hundreds of mandatory re/uirements specified in "reat detail. The job of the

en"ineer writin" the test procedures would be first to understand every re/uirement, and second devise

a separate numbered test for every detailed re/uirement. Test procedure documentation would

probably run into thousands of pa"es for a device li'e a ars rover. %very subcomponent would have

its own separate tests. Tests would normally also be witnessed by a third party independent of both the

desi"n and test departments, usually referred to as consultants, just to ma'e sure no cheatin" is

involved. #t @olls @oyce where ! wor'ed, the test department were 'ept separate from the

en"ineerin" desi"n departments for very "ood reasons. !n fact, there would occasionally be friction

between the desi"n and test departments and between desi"n and test en"ineers. !t appears from the

N# videos that this sort of en"ineerin" practice was not used by N#. !t loo's as thou"h they are

all wor'in" as on bi" team. #s far as ! am aware there are no publicly available si"ned off test

procedure documents. Ane would ima"ine that a very vi"orous pro"ramme of testin" should have

ta'en place, includin" len"thy environmental testin" with test chambers used to simulate the ars

environment. %ach test would have its own set of documentation. There are ima"es available showin"

+uriosity in a test chamber, but no documentation available for scrutiny. There is very little

information ! could find about the desi"n and testin" of the rover vehicles other than the short videos

made by N#. !t mi"ht be ar"ued that publishin" detailed desi"n and test procedures would be

"ivin" away secrets. rom what ! can see, other than the power "eneration system, the +uriosity rover

is usin" fairly standard technolo"y. @eleasin" the test documentation would be a "ood way of

provin" that the @over is indeed fit for purpose and capable of doin" what they claim. Khy is this

documentation not available for public scrutiny8


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"igure 1 > Opportunity Rover &nder Test

The photo"raph above loo's li'e a sta"ed publicity picture rather than evidence of any real testin"

bein" carried out. ost of the testin" of the rovers too' place on a small piece of land in ?asadena.

?ictured overleaf, 'nown as the ars ard.

"igure 5 > O33icial #ASA Rover Test Site Aerial -ie@= ;Mars ,ard

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"igure 7 > O33icial #ASA Rover Test Site= ;Mars ,ard @ith Rover

#ccordin" to N#s Met ?ropulsion $aboratory, 6the roc's in the ars ard are several types of

basalts, includin" fineI"rained and vesicular, both in red and blac'. @oc'Isie distributions are

selected to match those seen on ars. $ar"e roc's are not arsIli'e composition, bein" less dense,

but easier to move for testin". !n addition to reIarran"in" roc's, other obstacles such as bric's and

trenches are often employed for specialised testin".

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"igure $ > O33icial #ASA Rover Test Site= ;Mars ,ard= round -ie@

$oo'in" at this facility with a critical eye, it doesn9t loo' very impressive. There appears to be little or

no security in place. The cost to the ta payer of each rover mission is in the order of billions of

dollars. The cost therefore of each prototype rover must be many millions of dollars. The site and the

buildin"s seem rather low bud"et and the location rather unimpressive in what appears to be a bac'

yard.

!n my career as an electrical en"ineer in the L, ! visited various environmental test sites, all of which

were far more professional loo'in" and better e/uipped than this one. ! would have epected a

reception area to si"n people in and out, a security "uard, security cameras, administration offices,

wor'shops and offices for en"ineers to process results.

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0. THE C&R%OS%T, TEAM

# roc'et was launched from +ape +anaveral on 2:thNovember 2011, which alle"edly contained the

+uriosity rover destined for ars. Khat evidence eists which proves this craft actually went to

ars8 Ane can watch a video of the +uriosity Team sittin" behind blac' des's alle"edly monitorin"

its pro"ress as it enters the artian atmosphere, deploys a parachute and lands on the surface. #t one

point in this operation when the parachute is alle"edly deployed, one of the team is heard to say

6parachute deployed, followed by the rest of the team clappin" their hands and whoopin", then on anoverhead computer screen an animated "raphic appears of a craft with a cartoon parachute poppin"

out. Khy can9t the craft transmit ima"es as it is enterin" ars9s atmosphere8 Khat proof do we have

that there is a craft deployin" a parachute8

"igure $$ Curiosity Tea4 Monitoring the Descent to Mars

Khat interests me when we see ima"es li'e this one, is7 Khy doesn9t the camera film from over the

shoulders of the operators, so we can see what they are loo'in" at on the screens. !n fact, ! would as'

why do we need any operators at all considerin" that li"ht ta'es a full * minutes to travel from the

%arth to ars, which means that any adjustment to the crafts pro"ramme would ta'e : minutes to be

confirmed. This is a very different situation to supposed moon missions where a si"nal to the moon

ta'es just 1.* secondsO which would ma'e communication with #pollo craft more spontaneous and

perhaps re/uire a room full of operators. Kith a : minute feedbac' loop, the whole landin"pro"ramme would have to be almost fully automated, so what are all these people actually doin"8 !t is

true that adjustments could be made to the landin" pro"ramme by sendin" new data based on data

bein" fed bac', but would that re/uire all these operators8 H !s this just a show to ma'e the whole

thin" seem more sophisticated and dramatic than it really is8

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"igure $' >Curiosity *anding -ideo

# video is available which alle"edly shows the entry vehicle travellin" down towards the planet.

?roponents of this mission would cite this as proof that +uriosity landed on the surface of ars. !

would su""est that it proves nothin". !t proves that N# have released a video which anyone with

eperience in video effects and editin" could produce.

"igure $+ >#ASA %4age > Curiosity spotted on parachute by Mars obiter

?roof of a landin" on ars8

ollowin" the alle"ed successful landin" of +uriosity on the surface of ars, N#Ps Met ?ropulsion

$aboratory in ?asadena, +alifornia, hosted a briefin" for media which ! will ma'e comment on.

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"igure $ >Ada4 Steltner at the '$' *anding 8rie3ing

http7FFwww.youtube.comFwatch8vQGf(Rl%wa

The conference itself is not direct evidence for the hypothesis of this paper, but "ives an insi"ht into

the team which alle"edly en"ineered the +uriosity rover mission. !n particular ! would draw attention

to #dam &teltner, who it is claimed, lead the team which devised a new way to land +uriosity rover

on ars. !n the S D # session, &teltner was as'ed several simple /uestions and "ave answers which

su""est he has little technical 'nowled"e of the mission. The event had more of a feel of a -ollywood

movie awards ceremony, than a space mission conference, with very little scientific lan"ua"e or

en"ineerin" discussion about what happened. !f somebody claimed the +uriosity team were in fact

actors bein" as'ed to improvise the entire briefin", without any prior 'nowled"e of the science or

en"ineerin" of the project, ! would not be surprised if it were true. The Team repeatedly referred to the

mission as a movie.

&teltner was as'ed,

6Tell us about the landin"8

to which he replied,

6! can9t tell you too much about it. ! mean, it loo's "ood, !9m bein" a little flip. !n short it

loo'ed etremely clean laughs3. Ke had er, we touched down in conditions that were on

the more beni"n side of our nominal epectation. Aur erm, by the way ! want to preface

everythin", this is preliminary data scooped with the sieve in the cacophony of the a

collea"ue then helps him out by feedin" him a line 6control room, 6control room durin"

the celebration, ri"ht. #nd lar"ely by my "ood friend i"uel &an artin, who is

somewhere out there, ! hope. #t any rate erm, very nominal. @emar'ably "ood our

navi"ation error was on the low side of our epectation

# female journalist then as's &teltner,

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzfDZlEwaUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzfDZlEwaU


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6Khat type of file type and ima"e compression was used to send these very important

thumb nails bac' from ars,

after ma'in" a jo'e about her attractiveness, he replies,

6nfortunately ! absolutely cannot, laughter, 6!f Mustin ac'ey is in the room or there9s a

couple of other people on the team who9d be able to whip that out /uic'ly, that !, ! don9t,

couldn9t tell you, sorry.

-e is later as'ed about the landin" location, by an audience member who has loo'ed at the published

coIordinates of the landin" site, and compared them with the )eo"raphy of that part of ars, and then

deduced that the landin" site was within ;00 metres of the s'irt around a mountain, and possibly

within stri'in" distance of the phyllosilicate trench.

-e replies that he cannot confirm that, and states,

6y estimate, !9m loo'in" for somebody, There is somebody in the audience here that has

that in the tip of their no""in, we should have soon that estimate, but ! don9t have it to ;

decimal places. Ke wouldn9t report it to that

-e is as'ed the time that +uriosity touched down, and also, the time the first ima"e came bac'.

&teltner replies,

6The first of those is 107*


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1. )HOTORA)HS "ROM MARS RO-ERS A#D *A#DERS

Ke come to some of the most damnin" evidence which supports the hypothesis, photo"raphs

published by N# alle"edly ta'en by the rovers on the surface of ars. !f the hypothesis is rejected

by the reader, then ! would as' the reader to su""est plausible eplanations for what is seen in these

ima"es, and decide if their eplanations have a hi"her li'elihood of truth than is stated in the

hypothesis. ?hoto"raphs which are ta'en by the +uriosity rover are released to a private company

called alin &pace &cience &ystems. N# spends billions of dollars on these missions, and thefruits of the missions, the photo"raphs are then "iven to an outside or"anisation8

Khat is contained in this document is merely a representative sample of anomalies within the ars

rover ima"es. &ome ima"es published by N# are hi"h definition, others not so, which means when

printed in an #4 document format li'e this one, they may not show the full detail of the ima"e. or

this reason ! have reduced the definition of the hi"h definition ima"es to around 2100 piels width,

resultin" in *00dpi dots per inch3 on a printed pa"e. ! have then hi"hli"hted the area of the ima"e we

are interested in, and shown part of the ima"e in hi"her definition.

1.$ 2ildli3e %4ages

"igure $/ > Curiosity Rover %4age )%A$0'

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"igure $0 > Curiosity Rover %4age )%A$0' > Close &p

The ima"e, ta'en by +uriosity rover appears to show a rodent li'e creature in between two roc's. The

ima"e, li'e many of the colour ars ima"es is lac'in" in colour tone, su""estin" it may have had the

colour removed, then the whole ima"e "iven brownForan"e tone. This would eplain why the rodent

creature is the same colour as the roc's. # prototype rover, the L10 was tested on (evon !sland. #creature which is native to (evon !sland is the arctic $emmin", pictured below.

"igure $1 > A *e44ing on Devon %sland

This evidence could be su""estin" that the +uriosity ima"e was in fact ta'en on (evon !sland, at oneof the rover test sites which we will discuss later.

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"igure $5 > Curiosity Rover %4age $7MR05''E$

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"igure $7 > Curiosity Rover %4age $7MR05''E$ > Close &p

The ima"e, ta'en by +uriosity, appears to show the vertebrae of a lar"e animal or sea creature, such as

a walrus or and arctic whale.

or comparison ! have included an ima"e of a whale s'eleton.

"igure ' > 2hale S9eleton

$oo'in" at the central section of the whales vertebrae in the dia"ram above, we see a very distinct

similarity with the mars rover ima"e.

Kalruses are 'nown to dra" themselves on land and huddle up in a "roup to sunbathe. The early

walrus ivory hunters would shoot whole "roups of Kalruses in one spot, ta'e the tus's and heads and

leave the bodies to rot, so there would be bac'bones without s'ulls left. These places are 'nown as

Kalrus "raveyards, and have been discovered on &valbard, where ars rover research has been carried

out

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"igure '' > Curiosity Rover %4age 1$7MR+//0'107E$ > Close &p

The ima"e appears to show a bone, resemblin" the limb of an animal. Ane possibility is that it is a

bone from the arm of a Kalrus, pictured below for comparison.

"igure '+ > 2alrus S9eleton

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1.' )lant *i3e %4ages

"igure ' > Opportunity Rover %4age $#$+5+55'$E""'1)$77RM$

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"igure '/ > Opportunity Rover %4age $#$+5+55'$E""'1)$77RM$ > Close &p

This ima"e appears to show a lump of wood.

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"igure '0 > Spirit Rover %4age 'M$00+$/1'E""A'6$)'7+0M'M$

"igure '1 > Co4parison o3 'M$00+$/1'E""A'6$)'7+0M'M$ @ith lichen

The ima"e appears to show lichen. The second ima"e is a comparison between the rover ima"e and

lichen found on %arth.

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1.+ "ossil %4ages

"igure '0 > Opportunity %4age $M$+$'$/+5E""/)'7++M'M$

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"igure '1 > Co4parison o3 )artial Rover Crinoid "ossill @ith Co4plete Crinoid "ossil

Ke would welcome the independent comments of suitably /ualified eperts on these fossils.

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1. Moving Arte3acts

%vidence eists in the ars rover photo"raphs of roc's which appear in one place in one ima"e, and

then in a si"nificantly different place or missin" in another ima"e. These 'inds of displacements

cannot be put down to sand storms or environmental processes because the action is far too selective.

#ll other objects remain eactly where they were in previous ima"es. Khat mi"ht be the phenomenon

which can cause selective displacement of roc's on a planet with no life8 !f the rovers were situated

on %arth, then the displacements could easily be accounted for by persons movin" the roc's from oneplace to another for whatever reason. They may have been moved accidentally by personnel "oin"

about their business, whatever that may be.

"igure '5 >Spirit'#'577+1/'E""81)$75/*M$ ! '#'57+0+1E""8A$)$75/RM$

"igure '7 > Spirit Rover= Close up Co4parison o3 Roc9s

!n this close up we can see clearly that ima"es are of the same "roup of roc's. -owever, the two

roc's mar'ed by the arrow in the left hand ima"e have disappeared in the ri"ht hand ima"e.

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1./ Evidence o3 #ASA %4age Ta4pering

The first /uestion which arises with this net ima"e is how did the rover ta'e a photo"raph of itself,

without us bein" able to see the arm of the rover which held the camera8 #ccordin" to N# this

ima"e was created by stitchin" to"ether a set of ;; hi"hIresolution ima"es.

"igure + > #ASA %4age )%A$0'+7= Sel3 )ortrait o3 Curiosity Rover

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"igure +$ > #ASA %4age )%A$0$1

The N# ima"e above shows two identical photo"raphs, but with different colour tones. The roc's

in the picture are a close up of a "roup of roc's immediately to the left of the rover seen in the red

s/uare of the previous self portrait ima"e. The ima"e is ta'en at a sli"htly different an"le than in the

rover ima"e, but some of the same roc's can be clearly identified. @oc', #, B and + are clearly

reco"nisable in both ima"es, but roc' ( has completely disappeared in the left hand ima"e. This is not

the only anomaly in this ima"e. @oc's therefore have either been physically moved or airbrushed.

"igure +' > Co4parison o3 the t@o previous i4ages

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!f N#s eplanation is correct that the self portrait was stitched to"ether usin" ;; ima"es, then this

could eplain the reason why the roc's in the two ima"es above do not match. ! have left these ima"es

in the document as they are still worthy of note.

The net two ima"es illustrate possible use of +)! to create the bac'"rounds.

"igure ++ > Curiosity Rover %4age EDR"'7/0#CAM$1M

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"igure + > Curiosity Rover %4age #RA1$07/EDR"#CAM$7M

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1.0 %4possible Cleaning

!n 200> Ted Tweitmeyer eamined ima"es from the &pirit @over and pointed out that the accumulation

of dust on the rover was hi"hly selective. N# reported that problems had been encountered

because the solar panels were no lon"er providin" enou"h ener"y to char"e the batteries. This, it was

claimed was due to dust accumulatin" on the solar panels. #main"ly, the rover mana"ed to recover

itself because dust was blown off the solar panels by ars 6dust devils. This seems hi"hly unli'ely

in an atmosphere which is 200 times less dense than the earth.

! have cut and pasted some ima"es from Ted Tweitmeyers website which show that the dust on the

&pirit @over is not uniformly distributed, indicatin" that certain parts such as the hin"es and mountin"

plates may have been handled from time to time, causin" them to be much cleaner than the solar

panels.

"igure +/ > Co4parison o3 dust distribution on Spirit Rover

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1.1 Colours

There is stron" evidence that N# ima"es, from the lander and rover missions have had the colours

modified. uch debate eists over the colour of the artian s'y. -u"e controversy surrounds the

first ima"es sent bac' from Gi'in" 1. The ima"e below is alle"ed to be the first ima"e sent bac' from

the surface, which is no lon"er available on the N# website. !t shows a li"ht blue s'y and a sli"htly

reddish surface. The ima"e was at some pointed chan"ed by N# and replaced with the ima"eshown underneath revised3,

"igure +1 > -i9ing $ %4age )%A/0+ ForiginalG

"igure +5 > -i9ing $ %4age )%A/0+ FrevisedG

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"igure > Screenshots 3ro4 @@@[email protected]= The Colours o3 Mars

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"igure $ > Screenshots 3ro4 @@@[email protected]= The Colours o3 Mars

&ome of the researchers who point out the colour alterations made by N# put forward the ar"ument

that the reason N# is modifyin" the colours, must be to conceal somethin" about ars. !n other

words they do not dispute the ima"es were ta'en on ars. They assume that N# must not want the

public to 'now that ars has a blue s'y. Kould a more li'ely eplanation not be that the ima"es were

all ta'en on %arth and N# are modifyin" the colours to ma'e them appear less li'e the %arth8

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1.5 %4possible 2eather

The temperature on ars is variable as on %arth dependin" on the time of year, whether it is day or

ni"ht and whether you are at the poles or the e/uator. Afficial fi"ures estimate the temperature ran"es

from 20 de"rees centi"rade to I1;* de"rees centi"rade.

"igure ' > #ASA raph Sho@ing Annual Te4perature -ariation at Opportunity *ocation

The atmosphere on ars is composed primarily of +arbon (ioide


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"igure > #ASA %4age '3'+57'0$e33auc4p$$/7l4$

!n this ima"e we see what appears to be mud, which over a period of a few days is seen to flow or

move in the direction of the arrow. This is best seen by animatin" a series of 20 N# ima"es inse/uence from 22*>**>


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"igure / > #ASA %4age $3$+51+7$e33'57p$'$r4$

"igure 0 > Co4parison $3$+51+7$e33'57p$'$r4$ ! $)$+7$$+/E""'5$$)'/+/*1M$

The left hand ima"e shows a close up view of a portion of the "round, the ri"ht hand ima"e shows the

same portion of the "round ta'en at a different time which has been oomed in from the previousima"e. (oes the comparison show flow of mud or water8

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5. E-%DE#CE O" "A6ED )HOTORA)H, O" )RE-%O&S #ASA M%SS%O#S

uch has been written about the moon landin"s and it is widely contended, althou"h not accepted by

"overnments and scientific institutions, that most if not all ima"es publicised by N# appearin" to

be ta'en from the surface of the moon, were in fact ta'en on %arth in studios. This is a hu"e subject,

and ! will include just a few compellin" eamples which stron"ly su""est that the ima"es could not

have been ta'en on the moon.

Khat you see below are photo"raphs from the #pollo 1> mission. The two ima"es have each been

constructed by stitchin" 4 N# ima"es to"ether. !n the first ima"e we see an astronaut and in the

bac'"round on the ri"ht hand side of the ima"e is the $%, the lunar ecursion module. Ance the

$% has landed on the surface, it then has no means of movin" on the surface of the oon, it stays at

a fied location.

"igure 1

"irst %4age is a Co4posite o3 i4ages 3ro4 #ASA AS$1$+'+1 to '+

Second %4age is a Co4posite o3 i4ages 3ro4 #ASA AS$1$1''7 to ''/'$

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Khen the astronauts leave the moon, they board the top part of the $%, which then ejects from the

lower part leavin" it behind on the surface. Therefore it is only possible for the $% to appear in one

position on the surface of the oon. !n the second ima"e we see the $% in the fore"round, but the

bac'"round is identical to the first composite. !t is physically impossible for the $% to move whilst

on the surface of the moon. This su""ests the ima"es were ta'en on a sta"e set, and the bac'"round is

bein" "enerated usin" a front projection system, which was widely used by filmma'ers at that time.

"igure 5 > #ASA %4age AS$0$$1$55$

This ima"e is a photo"raph of a family photo"raph restin" on the surface of the oon alle"edly placed

there by #pollo 1: astronaut +harlie (u'e. Ke can see that the ima"e is well lit indicatin" the sun was

shinin" when the ima"e was ta'en. The surface temperature of the moon is over 100 de"rees

centi"rade durin" the day. # photo"raph consistin" of various layers of 109s photo"raphic paper

would immediately curl up if placed on the surface of the moon. This su""ests the ima"e is not an

ima"e of the surface of the moon, and has been ta'en somewhere much cooler.

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"igure 7 > #ASA %4age AS$/55$$7$HR

"igure / > #ASA %4age AS$/55$$7$HR > Close &p

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The ima"e above is from a lunar rover vehicle. $oo'in" closely at the soil around the tyres, there are

no tyre trac's from the wheels which have a deep tyre tread. This su""ests the vehicle has not actually

driven to the spot where it is located. -ow could this possibly be the case if the rover was driven

there from the lunar lander8 There are many more eamples of moon ima"es which have been proven

not to have been ta'en on the oon, such as discrepancies in the len"ths of shadows, roc's which

have studio set letterin" on them and evidence of the use of front projection bac'"rounds within studio

sets. !t is widely believed by many that &tanley Lubric' was heavily involved in creatin" studio sets

on %arth to be used for creatin" oon ima"es put out by N#. #ssumin" this is true, is it surprisin"that N#, the same or"anisation responsible for the ars landin" missions, mi"ht have continued to

use similar techni/ues to create ima"es on %arth for space missions from the late seventies onwards,

includin" ars landers and rovers8

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7. EARTH 8ASED "%E*D TEST%# S%TES

Kithin ars eploration research, the term 6ars analo" is often used and is defined as 7 ars

analo"s are defined as locations on %arth where some environmental conditions, "eolo"ic features,

biolo"ical attributes or combinations thereof may approimate in some specific way those thou"ht to

be encountered on ars, either at present or earlier in that planet9s history. &tudyin" such sites leads

to new insi"hts into the nature and evolution of ars, the %arth and life.

The /uest to find suitable 6mas analo"s has resulted in a number of ars testin" and research sites

bein" located at remote parts of the "lobe.

7.$ Devon %sland Test Site

"igure /$ > Map Sho@ing *ocation o3 Devon %sland

"igure /' > "lashline Mars Arctic Research Station F"MARSG

The lashline ars #rctic research &tation #@&3, is a simulated landed spacecraft and research

station, built and operated by the ars &ociety. The ars &ociety holds competitions for scientists

who compete for the prie of livin" inside this tin can for months at a time. The station is close to an

ancient 2*'m wide impact crater.

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"igure /+ > The Haugton Crater on Devon %sland

N#Ps -au"hton ars ?roject -?3 is part of an international interdisciplinary field research

facility located on the worldPs lar"est uninhabited island, (evon !sland. This project uses the polar

desert settin" and harsh climate of the +anadian -i"h #rctic to mimic the environmental conditions

that crewmembers are li'ely to encounter on ars and other planets.

(evon !slandPs barren terrain, freein" temperatures, isolation, and remoteness offer N# scientists

and personnel a number of uni/ue research opportunities. Ather factors, such as the #rctic day and

ni"ht cycle and restricted lo"istics and communications capabilities, offer fittin" analo"s for the

challen"es that crewmembers will li'ely face on lon"Iduration space fli"hts.

!n addition to on"oin" studies that focus on variables such as communications, e/uipment testin", and

vehicular and etraIvehicular operations, (evon !sland is also the site of the %ploration pro"ram,

which aims to develop new technolo"ies, strate"ies, and operational protocols "eared to support the

future eploration of the oon, ars, and other planets.

The site overloo's the 2*'m wide -ou"hton !mpact +rater site.

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7.' Han9sville &tah Test Site

"igure / > Map Sho@ing *ocation o3 Mars Desert Research Station= &tah

"igure // Mars Desert Research Station= &tah

This site, li'e the (evon !sland site is owned and run by the ars &ociety.

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7.+ Spitsbergen Test Site

"igure /0 > Map Sho@ing *ocation o3 Spitsbergen

#nother area used for research and testin" is &pitsber"en. There is no permanent base and various

sites are used on the island on a part time basis. ars rover components have been tested here, run by

Gestfonna )eophysical #& and funded by the Norwe"ian &pace +entre, % and N#. Lnown as

##&%, #rctic ars #nalo" &valbard %pedition, the site is not under the remit of the ars &ociety,

which ! will discuss briefly later.

?ayload instruments +hein and onboard N#s +uriosity rover were deployed here betweenin 200: and 2011. #lso field deployment of payload instruments onboard %s %oars rover has

been on"oin" since 200>.

Anly operational in the #rctic summer, in #u"ust each year a "roup of around 20 scientists and

en"ineers travel there to carry out various activities related to space research. %ach year the team has

different objectives, such as testin" components to be used on the ars rovers or testin" space suits.

"igure /1 > *ongyearbyen

The lar"est town in &pitsenber" is $on"yearbyen, with a population of just 2,040.

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"igure /5 > AMASE '5 "ield Sites

The most stri'in" thin" about the three ars analo" test sites described here is just how similar the

landscapes are to the ima"es captured by the ars rovers. There are two ways one mi"ht interpret this

undeniable fact. irstly that the locations were chosen because their landscapes are similar to ars, orsecondly that the rover ima"es are not bein" ta'en on ars and are in fact bein" ta'en at the ars test

sites. !f our hypothesis is true, it seems li'ely that the locations used for creatin" the ars rover

ima"es would be at ars analo" sites. #nother fact we need to consider is the remoteness of the

locations of these sites. ost of the sites, especially (evon !sland and &pitsber"en would be difficult

if not impossible to "et to by members of the public. (oes this provide the isolation re/uired to carry

off this hoa8

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$. THE MARS SOC%ET,

! have mentioned 6The ars &ociety in previous sections, who operate and maintain some of the

remote analo" testin" sites. !t is a not for profit or"anisation, and is funded 6fully by #merican

Ar"anisations, this presumably includes N#. !t is responsible for buildin" and maintainin" the

ars analo" stations, and ostensibly playin" a si"nificant role in the research for ars eploration

missions. Suestions which arise out of this are as follows7 Khy does N# need to prop up a

seemin"ly separate or"anisation8 Khy does N# not conduct the research that the ars &ociety isinvolved with itself8 Khy does N# not start its own analo" research win"8 Khy does this

research need to appear to be independent8 The ars &ociety was founded by (r @obert Rubrin in

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6The idea that we cannot "o to ars until much more advanced propulsion systems that

can "et us to ars in *0 days is erm, is not a valid ar"ument and ! believe it9s disin"enuous

as well.

This is a very interestin" statement and ! would as' the /uestion7 (oes it point to some 'nowled"e he

already has about advanced propulsion systems8 !n a lecture ! "ave recently, ! postulated that the

T@*B, a secret spacecraft alle"edly developed by the N and , which is claimed to use plasma

field propulsion could possibly travel to ars in around * wee's. y postulated fi"ure is /uite close tothe fi"ure stated in Rubrin9s lecture. (oes he 'now more than he is lettin" on8

?erhaps Rubrin is "enuine when he wrestles with the concepts of devisin" realistic ways of "ettin"

people to and from ars usin" white world technolo"y, but perhaps by ma'in" all the noise he does

about all of the problems we need to overcome, he is a "ood tool to those orchestratin" a cover up.

Rubrin was a staff en"ineer at $oc'heed artin for many years, where it is 'nown secret craft and

probably secret propulsion systems have been developed. ! could not find information on which years

Rubrin wor'ed at $oc'heed artin, nor what he actually did there.

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$$. CO#C*&S%O#

!f one considers each piece of evidence in isolation, then the hypothesis would not be a stron" one.

-owever, ta'in" into account all of the evidence presented in this document, ! would contend the

hypothesis is stron". !f ! was as'ed to put a fi"ure to this evidence, ! would say it is >;E certain that

ima"es published by N# from the ars rovers are actually photo"raphs ta'en on %arth.

There are other areas of research which could be used to stren"then the hypothesis that ! have notconsidered, such as the plausibility of the techni/ues used to lower the rovers to the surface of ars,

and the lac' of documented evidence of testin" of these systems. #nother way to prove the hypothesis

beyond a reasonable doubt would be to discover the areas on %arth where the rovers have been ta'in"

their photo"raphs and compare the landscape in the N# ima"es with these locations.

!f the hypothesis is true, it does not mean there have been no missions to ars, or even that an has

not piloted craft to and from ars. N# claims to have satellites orbitin" ars, and althou"h

outside the scope of this document, we could as'7 are the orbiter ima"es really comin" from ars8 Ke

mi"ht also as'7 why did N# not land any of their rovers at more interestin" locations on ars, such

as the 6dome formation or in +ydonia8 Ke have seen clear evidence of ima"e fa'in" in the N#

#pollo ima"esO therefore should we not be sceptical about ima"es alle"ed to be ta'en from muchfurther afield.

There may be secret missions, manned or unmanned powered by undisclosed technolo"y, such as the

T@*B, ta'in" place on a re"ular basis. (eceivin" the public by presentin" them with fa'e eploration

missions of ars, could be bein" done for several reasons. ?erhaps a hi"h level decision was made

at some point in time, which dictated that the public must not be allowed to see any ima"es ta'en from

the surface of ars. ?erhaps this was done because somebody is tryin" to conceal what is really there.

The net /uestion which would lo"ically follow would be7 Khat mi"ht really be there that some would

want 'ept secret8 Below is a list of speculative su""estions, which ! put out for further discussion,

2hat 4ight be being hidden on the sur3ace o3 MarsI

%vidence of past advanced civilisations, human or otherwise3

!nhabited manmade bases that have already been set up in secret

&ecret spacecraft or spaceports

The fact that the planet9s ma'eup mi"ht be si"nificantly different to the accepted scientific

model

#lien life eists on ars

!f any of the above were true, is it possible that those in control of this information would prevent it

from becomin" common 'nowled"e on %arth for reasons of power, control and stability8 !n order to

prevent it from becomin" common 'nowled"e, a viable way of 'eepin" it secret would be to present

the public with fa'e eploration pro"rammes. !s this what the ars rover missions are really all

A Hypothesis : The Opportunity and Curiosity Mars Rovers

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Transcript of A Hypothesis : The Opportunity and Curiosity Mars Rovers