Alien54 writes "ESA's Mars Express has obtained images of the Cydonia region, site of the famous 'Face on Mars.' using the High Resolution Stereo Camera. After multiple attempts to image the Cydonia region from April 2004 until July 2006 were frustrated by altitude and atmospheric dust and haze, the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board Mars Express finally obtained, on 22 July, a series of images that show the famous 'face' on Mars in unprecedented detail, with a ground resolution of approximately 13.7 metres per pixel."
Taking these pictures of the face was the primary goal of this mission. ESA was sick of listening to its citizens bitch about there being a 30 year "pictures of the face on Mars" gap (that's a rough translation from European).
image the entire surface at high resolution (10 metres/pixel) and selected areas at super resolution (2 metres/pixel);
produce a map of the mineral composition of the surface at 100 metre resolution;
map the composition of the atmosphere and determine its global circulation;
determine the structure of the sub-surface to a depth of a few kilometres;
determine the effect of the atmosphere on the surface;
determine the interaction of the atmosphere with the solar wind.
The Beagle 2 lander was planned to:
determine the geology and the mineral and chemical composition of the landing site;
search for life signatures (exobiology);
study the weather and climate.
I guess I would rather see something more than just regular images come from a mission. Right now, I can see all these things on the ESA's site that help the user see all these pictures of Mars but I don't see any maps of mineral composition, atmospheric movement, etc. I've seen pictures, these are some great high quality images with 3D detail that are great screensaver material. But, for the love of science, when do we get the rest of the data from the mission -- you know, the stuff that is, like, going to alter the way we view Mars? Is the public never going to see these results?
the official languages of the conferences and workshops they run is always English.
This is generally true in the sciences, and may be a result of the ESA's scientific mandate.
It makes it easier that every word is an English word: "Pukka sushi compadre" is an English sentence. That's one reason why English has so many more words than most language: we borrow words from other languages with wild abandon (and aren't very good about giving them back.)
Uh? The "face on mars" only looks like a face on the 1976 Viking's photographs. There has been numerous pictures of this region at higher resolution ever since :
This hasn't stopped the Enterprise Mission [enterprisemission.com] people from claiming conspiracy and that it is indeed still a face. Their web page is hilarious. One of the most recent articles [enterprisemission.com] has scans from a 1950's era Jack Kirby comic that featured a giant face on Mars as "proof" we knew about the face years ago, and that someone must have "leaked" the story to Jack Kirby.
Too much fun.
To me it looks more like an island, and the sea around it has gone...
What strikes me about the pictures from the Mars Express is how weird they look - they look kind of artificial - like they've been hand-drawn/painted by a 1950's space artist. They don't look like a picture if you nkow what I'm trying to say. The colours are very "rich" and unreal looking - difficult to explain - it might be a result of the prcoessing they've gone through.
Yes I do realise that, thank you:) But take a look at http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/marsexpress/30 8-230906-3253-6-3d2-Cydonia_H.jpg [esa.int] and you'll see what I'm talking about. What I think they've done is really enhance the contrast of the picture. The colouring still reminds me of old 1950's style drawings of craters and the like.
I wasn't trying to imply the pictures are fake at all, by the way.:)
I'm just guessing, but, they look like 3D renders from the surface.
Since the other pictures are anaglyphs (the sort of image that looks 3D when you use that red-blue 3D glasses), one can guess that they already processed the images to extract topological info... So a 3D render, to examine Mars surface details, seems logical to me.
Well, thats easy. The original source is multiple band photographs and height information. As the "top down" view cannot really present that information, those are renderings using the height-field and texture data the probe collected.
Look at the title of the article; thats why it's getting a makeover.
The upcoming Queer Eye for the Red Planet Probe is going to use an eyebrow plucking robot and deploy an "chic hat" so it can be the hip, modern face of Mars.
I doubt it......the Roswell types will say that the image was doctored
to distort the truth bla bla bla. It is a formation of ROCKS....period.
Same as the "old man on the mountain" in Georgia. Heck, as a kid, you
ever see "things" in clouds?
by Anonymous Coward
on Friday September 22 2006, @06:50AM (#16159875)
Look closely at this image [esa.int] of cydonia. Now look closely at the torso on this image [cbldf.org], that's proof positive that intelligent aliens with hyperdrive technology have travelled through this galaxy. For the doubters, here's a larger image [hoylen.com]. I just can't believe that world governments have managed to keep the truth covered up for so long!
Yes, but Richard Hoagland wouldn't sell any books if he just said it was just a rock formation. No, it's a CONSPIRACY and will be as long as there are people stupid enough to believe him.
There is no evidence that will quiet those people. Any contradiction to their already formed conclusion will simply be part of the "conspiracy".
It's the same with anyone who has already made their decision without the need for evidence - more evidence doesn't do a thing to them.
I have a feeling you could take some of those people who think NASA faked the moon landing to the moon IN PERSON and they would still conclude that it's an externally imposed delusion, because they are starting from the basic premise that they are right. Facts will need to fit that preconception. Same thing here.
There is no evidence that will quiet those people. Any contradiction to their already formed conclusion will simply be part of the "conspiracy".
Anyone with a few minutes to waste (and I do mean waste) can browse Richard Hoagland's web site (enterprisemission.com) and see just how true this statement is.
Twenty years ago, before high-resolution photos of Mars were available, Hoagland got a lot of mileage out of the low-res Cydonia photos. I remember that he even wrote a couple of fairly serious speculative
Either I'm missing it or martian faces are anatomically distict from the faces of human kind (and that of president Bush). Can somebody please do a redline?
This sort of information could be a death blow to conspiracy theories and the end of wild speculation as to the face's true origins and thus keep movies like John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, Red Planet and Mission to Mars from being made!
Yawn. Seen it all before. There are some conspiracy nutters who think theres something like that here on earth too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore [wikipedia.org].
I give it a week at most before the ufo/alien/conspiracy crowd produce their own 'optimised/cleaned up' version of these images that reveal not only the face, but the scaffolding left over from the aliens who built it, and the fossilised remains of their packed lunches. I recall that some nut managed to 'decifer' an entire city region buried around the so called face.
I remember the very first time this image appeared (yes, I'm that old), there was a very interesting comment in the magazine at the time, being
It's hard to actually work out where the "face" is on the new, high-quality images - they show a lot more area and they're not taken at the same angle. I put a post on my blog [oneandoneis2.org] with just the part of the image that shows the face, you might find it useful for comparisons.
Even in more detail and from more angles, I find it still looksat least as much like a face as the Old Man of the Mountain [franconian...tepark.com] in New Hampshire, the image of the Virgin Mary [visionsofjesuschrist.com] in a fogged thermopane window in Milton Hospital, Massachusetts.
It also looks at least as much like a face as human-constructed faces that have been ravaged by time, such as the Sphinx [guardians.net], or Michael Jackson.
When looked at from a particular angle, with particular lighting, then yes, it can look like a human face. But pictures shown from other angles or with different lighting don't look anything like a human face.
Heck, if you get the lighting right and go from just-so an angle, even Keith Richards seems to have a human face.
When our craft so much as approached Mars, we got devastating wars.
Now we dared to look the God of War in the face -- better start preparing for another World War, brought upon us by NASA -- the hitherto deemed benevolent arm of the American war-mongering government.
NASA - the hitherto deemed purveyor of all things space, to the exclusion of all other space agencies.
Suggestion to RTFA. Oh wait, slashdot. Ability to read not required.
Primary Goal of the Mission (Score:5, Informative)
But seriously, it is the first goal of the Mars Orbiter [esa.int]: I guess I would rather see something more than just regular images come from a mission. Right now, I can see all these things on the ESA's site that help the user see all these pictures of Mars but I don't see any maps of mineral composition, atmospheric movement, etc. I've seen pictures, these are some great high quality images with 3D detail that are great screensaver material. But, for the love of science, when do we get the rest of the data from the mission -- you know, the stuff that is, like, going to alter the way we view Mars? Is the public never going to see these results?
Re:Primary Goal of the Mission (Score:5, Funny)
Thats a very broad brush
Go on, say something in European.
Parent
Re:Primary Goal of the Mission (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
"Le Americans, they steenk!"
"By yiminy, ve surrender!"
How's that? I know I have a bit of an accent, but I think I can be understood.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Primary Goal of the Mission (Score:4, Funny)
Stand against forced spelling reform!
That is all.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
This is generally true in the sciences, and may be a result of the ESA's scientific mandate.
It makes it easier that every word is an English word: "Pukka sushi compadre" is an English sentence. That's one reason why English has so many more words than most language: we borrow words from other languages with wild abandon (and aren't very good about giving them back.)
Other cool facts about the mission (Score:5, Interesting)
Mars Express contains 7 different scientific instruments and, amongs other things, it has already:
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
No they don't.
The english units sent by the mars rovers are encapsulated in metric units, and converted back on earth.
Re:Primary Goal of the Mission (Score:5, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_on_mars [wikipedia.org]
I remember the 1998 Mars Surveyor pictures. I wasn't surprise, but who can say honestly that he was not a bit disapointed ?
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
A face huh? (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
What strikes me about the pictures from the Mars Express is how weird they look - they look kind of artificial - like they've been hand-drawn/painted by a 1950's space artist. They don't look like a picture if you nkow what I'm trying to say. The colours are very "rich" and unreal looking - difficult to explain - it might be a result of the prcoessing they've gone through.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
But take a look at http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/marsexpress/30 8-230906-3253-6-3d2-Cydonia_H.jpg [esa.int] and you'll see what I'm talking about. What I think they've done is really enhance the contrast of the picture. The colouring still reminds me of old 1950's style drawings of craters and the like.
I wasn't trying to imply the pictures are fake at all, by the way.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Since the other pictures are anaglyphs (the sort of image that looks 3D when you use that red-blue 3D glasses), one can guess that they already processed the images to extract topological info... So a 3D render, to examine Mars surface details, seems logical to me.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The original source is multiple band photographs and height information.
As the "top down" view cannot really present that information, those are renderings using the height-field and texture data the probe collected.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
The upcoming Queer Eye for the Red Planet Probe is going to use an eyebrow plucking robot and deploy an "chic hat" so it can be the hip, modern face of Mars.
You think this will quiet the conspiracy nuts? (Score:5, Insightful)
That's no face... (Score:5, Funny)
The world needs to know!
Parent
Re:You think this will quiet the conspiracy nuts? (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:You think this will quiet the conspiracy nuts? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's the same with anyone who has already made their decision without the need for evidence - more evidence doesn't do a thing to them.
I have a feeling you could take some of those people who think NASA faked the moon landing to the moon IN PERSON and they would still conclude that it's an externally imposed delusion, because they are starting from the basic premise that they are right. Facts will need to fit that preconception. Same thing here.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyone with a few minutes to waste (and I do mean waste) can browse Richard Hoagland's web site (enterprisemission.com) and see just how true this statement is.
Twenty years ago, before high-resolution photos of Mars were available, Hoagland got a lot of mileage out of the low-res Cydonia photos. I remember that he even wrote a couple of fairly serious speculative
However they analyze it (Score:4, Funny)
What face? (Score:2, Insightful)
Noooooooo!!!11eleven1! (Score:4, Funny)
Oh wait, that's a good thing.
Errrm, nevermind.
The "other" face on Mars (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Today's vocabulary word is "pareidolia" (Score:5, Informative)
Please excuse me, I have to return to searching my toast for the Virgin Mary now.
Not just on Mars (Score:3, Funny)
Link to the old, low-res version (Score:5, Funny)
Google? (Score:2)
photoshop here we come (Score:2)
I recall that some nut managed to 'decifer' an entire city region buried around the so called face.
I remember the very first time this image appeared (yes, I'm that old), there was a very interesting comment in the magazine at the time, being
The Arlia are gonna be awfully mad... (Score:2)
(It's a book reference, just curious how many on
Those rovers better deliver (Score:2)
There are many faces on Earth too (Score:5, Interesting)
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-16.341133,-71.965
It's obviously a face (Score:3, Funny)
Are we even looking at the same picture?
Look, on the near side is the chin, up from there is the nose, up from there are the other two noses and to the right of these is the telepathy patch.
You people are just too cynical for your own good.
The images aren't easy (Score:3, Informative)
Still looks convincingly face-like to me... (Score:4, Interesting)
It also looks at least as much like a face as human-constructed faces that have been ravaged by time, such as the Sphinx [guardians.net], or Michael Jackson.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Well Done (Score:4, Informative)
Secondly, its an orbiting space platform and has nothing to do with rovers (unless you mean the ill fated Beagle 2 which was carried on this mission).
But having corrected all that, you are right its a job well done.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
1) that really does bear striking resemblence to a face. Not perfect but just an odd rock formation.
2) where are the other mountians? It's like hiawii. a (mostly)lonely mountian in a sea of flat. While there is precendant it is an oddity.
Re:It's human nature... (Score:5, Funny)
Heck, if you get the lighting right and go from just-so an angle, even Keith Richards seems to have a human face.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:It's human nature... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
NASA - the hitherto deemed purveyor of all things space, to the exclusion of all other space agencies.
Suggestion to RTFA. Oh wait, slashdot. Ability to read not required.