Shiny Object on Mars: NASA's Curiosity Rover Spots Mysterious 'Bright Object' (PHOTO)
A shiny object has been found on Mars by NASA's "Curiosity rover." The hi-tech machine was reportedly collecting Martian soil recently when its cameras suddenly revealed a small, shiny object.
As soon as the shiny object was spotted the digging and soil collecting mission was brought to a grinding halt as some of the world's top scientists attempted to figure out what the bright object was.
The investigation into what the unidentified object could be is still ongoing, although a statement released by NASA appeared to indicate that scientists were worried it could be a piece from the Curiosity rover.
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NASA has said, "Curiosity's first scooping activity appeared to go well on October 7. Subsequently, the rover team decided to refrain from using the rover's robotic arm on October 8 due to the detection of a bright object on the ground that might be a piece from the rover."
Scientists are trying to figure out which part, if any, the shiny object could belong to on the hi-tech space machine. By doing so they hope to figure out how the machine's mission, digging and collection of samples could be affected.
An alternative being discussed is that the shiny object could also be a piece of the descent system used by NASA to help the Curiosity rover land on the Red Planet.
However, at this point all the suggestions are merely speculation.
One idea that simply cannot be taken off the board yet is that the shiny object could be originally from Mars - that it is a strange piece of the landscape and geology of Mars.
The mystery has certainly got people talking online and those interested in space and what might be out there have been claiming all sorts of things on blogs and comments. There are those who are jumping on the chance to promote ET, saying that it is clear evidence that we are not alone in the universe. Where as others are suggesting it's simply a piece of an ineptly build Mars Curiosity rover machine.
