[X] My Assistant

[Guest_paulanderson_*]

An interesting note re the original "rotini" - in this update today from Space.com, it mentions that the same kind of shape has not yet been duplicated by the RAT or any other instruments in the months of ratting done since then:

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/myst...day_050214.html

Quotes:

"Early in its mission at Meridiani Planum, the Opportunity Mars rover shot back a Microscopic Imager photo that included a feature shaped like a Rotini pasta. At the time, its profile sparked discussion both inside and outside of the NASA Mars Rover Exploration team."

"I am surprised I do not hear any more commotion about the good old ‘rotini’ shape from Meridiani in the early part of the mission," Gorevan said. "We have not yet been able to duplicate that shape with the RAT or any Mössbauer Spectrometer or Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer contact mechanisms." But Gorevan hastened to add: "That’s infinitely far from saying it is of biologic origin, but it is proving resistant to duplication."

The other recent lichen-like area also mentioned is thought to probably be a rat brush mark, although that isn't 100% known yet either. I forget which rock this was on again - ?

[Marcel]

I can't resemble the rock either, but what i do know, is that there's one image that made me drop straight down from my chair last year considering possible hints to life, and that's the one that was discussed in a topic in this forum loong ago: the shell.

I have never heard anyone say somthing about it anymore and i don't understand why. Sceptical as i am, i think one should be very cautious about the L-word on Mars. But this image made me doubt: should we proove that it is a shell, or should we prove it's not. Can we ?

It looks like it to me !

I hope it is.

Could geometric comparison with a variety of shells make anything more clear ? Someone knows about more images of this one (from another point of view) ?
Any stereopairs ?

Attached thumbnail(s)