WELL NOW IT’S OFFICIAL: MUSK WANTS THOSE MARTIAN ARTIFACTS
Many of you sent me this story about that recent picture of a likely ruin and archaeological site on Mars, and Elon Musk's desire to go get it(thanks to all of you who spotted and shared this story):
But there's a real kicker to this most recent Martian anomaly find, and it explains why I've filed this story under the "Giza and archaeology" tab:
Musk, responding to his longtime friend's tweet, said: 'We should send astronauts to Mars to investigate!'
Experts are yet to provide any official scientific explanation as to what the structure may be, but that hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists from arguing it is evidence of alien civilisation on Mars.
The square structure is estimated to measure 235metres on each side, approximately 770ft, according to AI Calculations, CAclubindia reported.
Conspiracy theorists have likened the structure to the Great Pyramid in Egypt, which measures at roughly 230metres on each side.
The AI calculations also estimate the structure on Mars may share the same 51.5-degree slope as the Great Pyramid.
Thousands of naturally-produced square and rectangle-like shapes can be found in the Tasman Peninsula of Tasmania, Australia.
The Tessellated Pavements of Eaglehawk Neck are located about an hour away from Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, along the water.
And we then get the following picture:
Really? the folks at The Daily Mail think this is convincing? What geological process could possibly lead to the occurrence of one square on Mars with square tesselations in Tasmania? But the real corker is this one:
However, there is a decades-long history of misinterpretation of images captured on Mars.
For example, NASA's Viking 1 orbiter took a photograph in July 1976 that was dubbed the 'Face on Mars' because one rock captured in the picture resembled a human head.
NASA scientists quickly determined the human-like face was created by 'tricks of light and shadows', according to Space.com, but that did not stop the public from seizing onto the idea that a Martian civilization once existed.
We then are treated to the now classic Viking "Face on Mars" photograph of the Face at Cydonia. what The Daily Mail is conveniently leaving out of its "reportage" is that having first enunciated the "trick of light and shadow" view of the picture, the very NASA scientists who discovered the photograph then went looking for more images, and lo and behold, there was another picture, taken from a different position of the satellite and a different Sun angle, and - woops - the face was still there.
Whether or not one agrees with these interpretations of these Martian photos, the fact remains that there is significant enough disagreement that merely to denounce those who hold that these might represent some ancient civilizational ruin as being nothing but conspiracy theorists is itself a conspiracy, exemplified by the Daily Mails key omission of the details of the story of the Face at Cydonia, and that the "trick of light and shadow" narrative was quickly disproven by the NASA scientists who made the discovery of later imaging of the same feature, which showed the same thing.
Musk's attitude is actually the correct one: there's something there, and we need to go take a look. But here's the problem: Musk has revealed, perhaps inadvertently, what his real interest in Mars is, and I suspect it's not simply about human colonization of Mars. It's about the exploration of potential archaeological sites, and the recovery of whatever knowledge and technology those sites may disclose. And if it is indeed done by a private corporation, that would seem to imply a private and corporate ownership of whatever is recovered. And that in itself is highly problematic for all the obvious reasons. It's bad enough that a private corporate entity should have ownership and access to potentially empowering technologies. But there's a deeper issue: archaeological sites are typically understood to be owned by whatever descendants - if any - of the people having produced it. What if there are "trip wires" and "alarm systems" at these sites, and they're still functional? what if "they" are still out there and watching? It's all very nice that Mr. Musk wants to go to Mars, and that he's been good enough to share his basic concepts of how to get there and what he's going to do once he does get there.
But what I want to know, and what no one seems to be willing to talk about, is that "trip wire" scenario, and what happens if it's true and "they" suddenly show up to protect their ancient sacred ancestral burial ground, or their superweapon, or their archives? Should that expedition to Mars thus - as a precaution against the scenario - be armed? And if so, then what happens to "we come in peace for all mankind"?
It's telling that no such warnings or discussions have been had since the Brookings Report first raised the issue of artifacts, and what their implications were. And Mr. Musk, whose proper name is also that of the Mars explorer and hero in Wernher von Braun's Das Mars Projekt novel, for some strange reason isn't talking.
You might want to read, and read deeply, Mr. Musk, before climbing into your rocket and heading to Mars...
See you on the flip side...
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