A little over four years ago the Opportunity rover on Mars had a problem. Grit and dust had built up on the solar panel and it wasn't generating much electricity, down to around 500 watt hours a day from a maximum of 900.
Then a miracle happened overnight. The solar panel
suddenly got cleaned off and seemed good as new. The chief scientist scratched his head in wonder:
"
Spirit’s pretty dirty," he told MSNBC.com. "Opportunity looks like it just came off the showroom floor. We do not understand the process well."
The common explanation at the time was that fortuitous gusts of wind like those dust devils seen at times on the planet -
came along and got rid of the accumulated filth.
Now, when was the last time a gust of wind came along and cleaned off your car windshield? No? Well maybe it's not a valid comparison because of road oils and those squished bugs, but here's my point. Dust devils or any other wind gusts don't clean surfaces off, they make them dustier and dirtier. Leave a flat surface alone for a few months, or don't move a car in your driveway and see what happens to the glass.
To this pair of eyes, what happened was,
it rained, probably hard enough to clean the dust off. But the problem is the official story has it that that's impossible on Mars, a frigid, thin atmosphered and dry old prune of a planet. Water would immediately evaporate and it can't rain there.
But soon after that mysterious overnight car wash a picture was released by JPL, where the rover's camera was pointed down at it's own track. You tell me what you see in the track's indentation, lower right:
A puddle? But, that can't be! We're told Mars is too dry, too cold, too dead for that to happen! Liquid water might have once existed there millions and billions of years ago but the atmosphere simply won't allow it now.
Well, I guess it's time for the latest little infodribble to get us a little more ready for the big kahuna blockbuster that Mars is crawling and squeaking and smelly with life forms.
Photo: Liquid Water Recently Seen on Mars?"
Liquid droplets seem to form and move on the leg of the Phoenix Mars lander, as seen in images taken on days 8, 31, and 44 (seen above from left to right) of the craft's mission."Actually, scientists knew from the very start of the space program that Mars has standing water. Photos from Mariner 4 showed lakes and streams but we weren't supposed to know that for a long time until our overlords decided it was appropriate to tell us. The entire universe is chockablock with life and Mars is no exception. But we were to be kept in the dark, drugged,
stupid and preoccupied with petty distractions and religious idiocy.
Knowledge is restricted to our betters, you see.