SPIRIT ROVER FIRST IMAGES

Report #058

January 11, 2004

 

The above first image is one of the official Mer-A/Spirit images released to the Press and in the size often seen in the many press presentations. The view is from the rover camera of the surrounding Mars terrain before the rover attempted egress from the lander. Except for my arrows and labeling, I have made no attempt to enhance this scene and it is just as it comes from official sources.

Note the light color fuzzy areas pointed out by my arrows. These have been identified by official sources as depressions in the terrain and perhaps even small craters. They have also stated that these areas will be investigative targets for the rover in the weeks ahead assuming it successfully egresses from the lander into the terrain. That's the official story.

For me, with my growing experience at distant satellite imaging and the tampering that always goes with it, these light color areas looked too familiar. In fact, even on TV they looked to me like a combination of blur and smudge image tampering applications but I did not initially investigate further. You see, in my opinion (we all have them), the lander/rover aspect of this mission as officially described is not the real mission and is only a feel good show for media and public consumption and a misdirection tactic while the real mission aspects remain totally secret. Further, I'm sorry to say, I suspect the same for ESA's Beagle2 and Mer-B/Opportunity due to arrive later this month.

So, I kept my attention focused on the satellite imaging investigative work rather than waste any of my limited investigative time on this mission. I basically watch it on TV like everyone else. However, viewers started emailing me wanting me to comment on this and I began to realize that I should perhaps take a closer look at this and see if there was anything I might be able to contribute. Below are the results of that brief look.

The above second image in my enhanced for clarity image showing the officially identified "depression" in the upper left background of the first context image here. As I suspected would be the case, this light color fuzzy area in the distant context image doesn't resolve under closer inspection to anything that might look much like a "depression" now does it. It is obviously a horizontally stretched out application of light color smudge image tampering.

As further evidence of this, please look closely and carefully at the natural rocks in this scene. Note that the sunlight is clearly coming from the right as reflecting off the rocks and the rocks are throwing short dark shadows to their left. This demonstrates that we have sun angle sufficient enough to cast pronounced shadows in this scene. If this light color area was really a depression as officially promoted, then a shadow would be thrown from the right lip into the depressions depths.

At the very minimum, there would be at least some subtle color changes associated with shadow and not this completely uniform light color so characteristic of careless artificial applications where there isn't even the slightest suggestion of shadow right up to its perimeter edges. This conclusively demonstrates that the light color area is a artificial introduction into the image and has nothing to do with natural topography.

Obviously, there is no depression here at this spot at all. The only thing visible here is light color smudge application completely hiding some above ground objects. The horizontally stretched out nature of the application indicates that this is probably a group or cluster of objects spread along this line being hidden rather than a single object. I have no idea what specifically the tampering is hiding except to be certain that it is something the secrecy agenda does not want us to see and identify. In my experience with the much more distant satellite imaging, this usually means civilization evidence although it could be other life evidence as well.

The above third image is my enhanced for clarity image of the light color area in the foreground on the right edge of the first context image. This area has definitely been subjected to blur/smudge image tampering. However, this application is more blur than smudge and blur has a transparent quality. This is often used in multiple layers in tampering applications to help the application's outer edges blend and fade into the natural terrain making the whole application less noticeable.

I have been able to defeat a bit of the blur tampering with the result you see above. Right in the center of this application is a vague looking heavily blurred object that looks for all the world like a head and neck sticking out of the ground with two dark eyes, a dark wide mouth line, and a flattened top of the head. Now natural terrain sometimes demonstrates chance configuration topography forms that look familiar but are usually not real as to what they at first appear to be. I see this kind of stuff all the time and usually do not report on it considering it too ambiguous. Further, although this does sort of resemble a face despite all the blur tampering, it certainly doesn't resemble any face that might be familiar to us.

However, remember that this particular spot has been intentionally selected for tampering treatment and that is never done without cause. It also means that someone in the secrecy loop didn't like the looks of what they saw in this spot at all. Is this object what they didn't like? Remember to that they are seeing this without all this heavy blur tampering distorting the object that is so hampering definition for us. This factor is also evidence that also cannot be dismissed or denied. This in turn tends to give this object a little more credibility for us to consider.

SPECULATION

Some of you who are familiar with the accumulative evidence record at this website are no doubt coming to seriously consider that Mars may be a heavily populated world, perhaps even over populated because that is the direction the visual hard evidence is pointing in and not just because of my own subjective interpretation of that evidence. Further, the visual evidence is clearly indicating a highly technologically advanced population and one that may not be dependent on ground based transport as we still are here on Earth.

If that is the case, it is logical to assume that such advanced population(s) will easily have the capability at the very least to track probes inbound for their planet including atmospheric entry and landing. It is even possible that the landing itself could be controlled and/or influenced by their technology. That may include intercepting communications between Earth and the spacecraft/lander/rover as well as analyzing its onboard computer programming. That would mean that they would also be well aware of and be able to anticipate any convert aspects of the mission that you and I have do not even have any knowledge of. It is also likely that Earth's secrecy agenda may be well aware of this in part or in whole.

In such a speculative mission scenario, the secrecy agenda's choice of the remote forlorn Gusev Crater desolate plain takes on a whole new meaning well beyond its safer landing qualities (flat) and potential for possible past water and simple organism life evidence as officially expressed. Were they also hoping to avoid landing detection in this remote location? Was there also something there that they thought may be abandoned and thereby available for rover visual inspection if they could land near it within the rover's ranging distance? It is certainly easy enough to select what you images you will or will not release to the public.

Likewise, what if there was a secret covert military intelligence aspect to this mission such as tiny surveillance drone flyers ejected into the atmosphere prior to the final landing sequence able to range hundreds of miles and closely aerial map military intelligence chosen targets? If there is anything to such a scenario, this would be a very high risk of failure operation if such units were detected. Such a failure to this secret aspect of the mission would simply remain secret and you and I would never be aware of it. In such a scenario, the sending of a second redundant probe Opportunity to a alternative, possibly convert, site on the other side of Mars also takes on a whole new potential meaning.

However, what if the covert aspect of these missions is interpreted on Mars as overly ambitious and going too far. So, rather than just stop the probes, they decide to send a message back to Earth, not in our language but via a visual that cannot be mistaken by anyone? What if they influenced the lander enough to place its landing site near something on this desolate plain that the secrecy agenda has no choice but to obfuscate with image tampering?

What if, as additional insurance, they go one step further and locate some head caricature object sticking out of the ground very near the lander/rover and intentionally directly facing the camera and they make it so strange looking (frogman?) that it can't be visually missed? It sends the clear message "Hey, I'm a strange cooter and I see you!" Ooops, sorry for the slip of humor there.

Frankly, let's just hope anyone that may be on Mars does have a sense of humor. If there is such a military intelligence secret project as part of these missions also playing itself out without our knowledge, then this could be interpreted as very provocative stuff. Imagine what our own reaction to this would be if this happened to us here on Earth, that is if the public was ever told about it.

Remember, secrecy about highly advanced technology and information is often necessary to retain a competitive leadership edge in the world and I'm not saying anything against that. If there is a blunder, we may just loose some advantage that is potentially recoverable with an increased effort. However, any secrecy as to the active military and/or secrecy agenda use of that advanced technology aggressively against someone most of us are unaware of as well as any secrecy over the presence of other advanced life near or among us is a whole different ball game and is in fact no game at all.

Some of the potential consequences that might potentially arise from decision making made from isolation, ivory tower, them or us psychology that naturally comes with prolonged deeply entrenched secrecy may be just not affordable by anyone.

DOCUMENTATION

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040106a/PIA05003_br.jpg: This link accesses the 48 KB press release JPEG image directly. This is the size image often seen in the media and the one with the most resolution, that is for a already highly compressed JPEG image. No telling what could have been seen in a full resolution uncompressed image.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040106a/PIA05003.jpg: This link accesses the larger 1 MB press release version of the image directly. This image offers a substantial increase in size for those just interested in a brief look. However, seeing the kind of detail you see here in my second and third images, will require graphics software for clarity enhancement. For those of you who want to work up your own imaging for better possible detail in a graphics software program, I advise choosing the smaller 48 KB image and blow that up to suit because this larger image has just been blown up from the smaller JPEG compression image with further JPEG compression causing a slight loss of detail noticeable upon very close examination.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040106a.html: Just in case either of the above two direct to image links do not work for some reason, then this link accesses the official press release page with these and other Spirit images available there as links. The very last image thumbnail on the page titled "Martian Horizon" is the one you want matching my images here.

, Investigator