POSSIBLE SPHERICAL LIFE SPOTTED BY MSL ON SOL 1,185.
Spherical life seems to be common on Mars. Updated on 12/9/2017, then again on March 25, 2019.
Figure 1 above - The green spherical and cocoon-like objects were seen on sols 1185 and 1189. The green spheres might be photosynthetic life. MSL returned to the area again on Sol 1248, possibly for a further look or tests to see if this is life. More spheres were seen on Sol 1555, 1571 and 1797.
WHY I SUSPECT LIFE HERE. If you look at enough photos of rocks on Mars there is always a possibility that something may look artificial. There were objects seen on the images sent by Mr. Kiepke that looked like faces, but I’ve seen similar rock objects in Arches National Park in Utah (actually, they looked like monkey faces). However, to find what looks like three perfect spheres, greenish in color suggesting photosynthesis, on two images (or more, which Dave has found), and the possible cocoon-like source of one of them is good reason to suspect that we have objects of potentially great significance. Three similar objects is suggestive of reproduction. Two so close together may suggest an approach of both for purposes of mating.
UPDATE OF MARCH 25, 2019: At least six spheres are seen on Figure 5!
How would such life survive on Mars? For starters, it might well need a means of protection from the extreme cold at night. A rock-like cocoon might provide such protection – perhaps only while the life is growing. Maybe it breaks out of the cocoon or egg when it gets big enough, like a lot of animal life on Earth. Then, when the life is released, it uses its ball-like shape to help it roll around with the help of wind. Where it bumps into a natural rock (a barrier) it stops to absorb nutrients from the soil or possibly water from just below the surface. So what I think we are seeing here represents two phases of a life form – one where it grows inside a protective shell, and another where it rolls around, collects nutrients and/or water from the soil while using the carbon dioxide in the Martian air (and sunshine) to produce food. There may, of course, be one or more phases, but there's no evidence for that yet.
WHAT DAVE KIEPE WROTE ABOUT ALL THE SPHERICAL OBJECTS SEEN. I haven't yet received all the images that David has seen, but this is what he wrote about them:
I have scoured almost every Right MastCam image now from SOL 1185 thru today, and have found additional sphere objects, all of them present in similar fashion, slightly greenish Tint, and anywhere from 50% to 75% above the soil. Some are small, most appear about the same size.
Interestingly the object they decided to super-zoom in on SOL 1203 using Chem-Cam was only imaged 1 time by the Right Mast Cam (and that image also has a sphere in it), the area immediately (inches) below that area however was imaged again and again on at least 7 SOLs thru SOL 1211...so they intentionally superzoomed into an odd looking nodule extruding from the surface, and then took several more R MastCam images not of that area.
I have attached a few more interesting images showing more spheres, and possible a translucent spherical object...I have not observed these types of spheres prior to this area, however it may have been because I wasnt looking. I also tend not to try and "see" things in images, faces, figurines, mice etc to me are tricks the mind plays.
Elevations and ground temperatures encountered while MSL was at positions noted by JPL. Possible life was seen on Sol 1185, along with a warmer than expected high ground temperature. The position noted for MSL for Sol 1248 is a return to within 20 meters of where the potential life was seen before. Then it moved within about 10 meters of the site.
MSL WEATHER DATA FOR SOLS WHERE SPHERES WERE SEEN | ||||||||||||||||||||
B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | ||
SOL | ~LS | PRESSURE PA | EARTH DATE | MAX AIR TEMP | MIN AIR TEMP | AIR TEMP RANGE | AIR TEMP RANGE/40 | MAX GROUND TEMP | MIN GROUND TEMP | ∆ GROUND TEMP DAY TONIGHT | DAYTIME CHANGE IN TEMP °C AIR TO GROUND | NIGHTTIME CHANGE IN TEMP °C AIR TO GROUND | PRESSURE AT SAME LS IN MSL YEAR 2 | ∆ PRESSURE YEAR 3 TO YEAR 2 SAME LS | ~LS year 2 | PRESSURE YEAR 1 BEFORE REVISION | UV YR 3 | UV YR 3 | COMMENTS and (SOL PREVIOUS YR ) | |
1185 | 77 | 881 | 12/6/2015 | -24 | -84 | 60 | 1.5 | -3 | -94 | -91 | 21 | -10 | 885 | 4 | 77 | N/A | H | M | Warm ground temp close to winter solstice but extreme cold at night (516) | |
1189 | 79 | 879 | 12/10/2015 | -24 | -87 | 63 | 1.575 | -10 | -85 | -75 | 14 | 2 | 882 | 3 | 79 | N/A | M | M | (520) | |
1254 | 109 | 799 | 2/15/2016 | -29 | -84 | 55 | 1.375 | -11 | -88 | -77 | 18 | -4 | 802 | -3 | 109 | N/A | M | M | (585) | |
1453 | 217 | 850 | 9/7/2016 | 5 | -73 | 78 | 1.95 | 13 | -73 | -86 | 8 | 0 | 857 | -7 | 217 | N/A | VH | M but it was VH in MSL Year 1 | (784) |
Figure 5 - Spheres seen on MSL 2357. The image was sent to me by Marco de Marco on March 25, 2019.