It appears man’s technology is not advancing quite fast enough.
Six weeks ago, the rover robot Curiosity made it to the surface of Mars. It was not a dead cert. There were many things which could have gone awry: but mankind in general and NASA in particular patted themselves on the back when the little robot made it.
What an achievement. Our man on Mars, taking pictures of that ethereal moon, Phobos, crossing the sun; strolling across the surface of the red planet and sending back holiday snaps.
It has not travelled far, however.
During its six week vacation – it landed August 6 – it has trekked a vast 950 yards and now it has become extremely preoccupied with a rock.
I can see why. It’s a pretty shape.
A bit too pretty, if you ask me.
It is a creditable pyramid, in dark stone. According to the BBC it is about 25cm high and has a base of 40cm. NASA called it Jake, a memorial to one of their team who died before he could see Curiosity land safely.
So Curosity and Jake are deeply engrossed in each other. They are having long staring contests. In a sophisticated bonding ritual Curiosity will be firing its little ChemCam laser to find out what Jake is made of, and getting up close and personal with its X-ray spectrometer.
Misdirection?
Yes: beyond Gale Crater where our incredibly sophisticated little hardware bot is working away, just out of sight, the Martians are chuckling because a mantelpiece ornament is causing so much stir with the tiny interloper.
And they shake their unearthly oval heads with mirth as they load up the family martian-carrier with picnic, camping supplies and enough entertainment to keep the little martians happy for a very long ride.
It’s not hard to outwit Curiosity because curious as he is, he’s not a fast mover. You can sneak a whole icebox and martian beers past him before he can even look over his little botty shoulder.
We’re good, mankind and NASA. We’re really good.
But not that good.
It was the coastguards who got the first calls.
Last night (21 Sept) they were inundated with calls from people living on the coast of Northern Ireland, from Coleraine on the north coast, to Strangford Lough in the south east. They had seen strange objects in the sky: lights. Lots and lots of lights. Like, one observer said, the film Independence day.
It is true that calls were also made in Dublin but it must be noted that there are many public houses in that fair city.
Sightings were also made in Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as coming as far south as Norfolk.
The BBC is always the one that gathers information like this. People ring them up and they tell them because somehow, it’s a bit like telling God or the Queen or David Cameron. We know intrinsically that all three will be watching the BBC’s coverage.
One onlooker told the BBC it was a “kind of a mass of light, gold light. Everything moving in unison”.
“It wasn’t diverging or whatever. I thought it was a plane at first. It was quite low on the horizon and moving much slower than I’d expect to see a shooting star, but it was amazing.”
Wake up, boys. Smell the martian rocket-fuel.
Two figures: HG Wells and Orson Welles.
HG Wells was responsible for writing an account of Martian landing so vivid we feel as if we probably did experience it, back in the dying days of the 19th century. People spotted meteors and then the next day, walking out on the common in Horsham, Surrey, they came upon a ship. While it was closed it was great fun to sightesee: once it opened it became clear mankind was doomed, saved only by a little earthly cold virus.
And Orson Welles used his account to stir mass panic in the public on October 30, 1938 when he dramatised the novel with such immediacy that everyone knew for sure it was real.
What’s to say, this time, it isn’t?
Better get those camping sites ready, boys. We’re expecting company, and it ain’t human.
Picture source here
Kate Shrewsday 
Very interesting!
🙂
Reblogged this on MibsBlog and commented:
I personally am more reminded of the old Smash advert, wiht the laughing tin martians whenever I see news on the Curiosity bot!
Saw the “lights in the sky” last night myself, and suspect it was a satellite or something crashing down..definately didn’t act like a meteor and “they” are good at not being totally honest with us ( maybe someone in the Middle East finally managed to attempt to nuke us?)
Who knows, but it was one heck of a good light show, and will provide rich fodder for great imaginations such as Kates, love the story Kate, brilliant imagery!
Thank MIbs, and for that reblog! Good to meet someone who saw it: I’m too far south. They’re going with the Space Junk theory at the moment, I see…hmmmm…
I personally am more reminded of the old Smash advert, with the laughing tin martians whenever I see news on the Curiosity bot!
Saw the “lights in the sky” last night myself, and suspect it was a satellite or something crashing down..definately didn’t act like a meteor and “they” are good at not being totally honest with us ( maybe someone in the Middle East finally managed to attempt to nuke us?)
Who knows, but it was one heck of a good light show, and will provide rich fodder for great imaginations such as Kates, love the story Kate, brilliant imagery!
Are you serious? There were really any sightings?
Lots of lights in the sky, Jas , yes….
My guess is that extraterrestrials are a lot smarter than us which is why they hover above this god forsaken planet and then smartly fuck off:)
😀 Very spacewise creatures, these ETs, Roger.
Robert Browning addresses this as well as anyone ever has. “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
Our grasp has been astounding, Lou, to be sure: who would have thought we’d have a buggy on the surface of Mars?
Love it, Kate, especially those Martians sneaking past Curiosity with a six pack. You are, as always, witty and, well, curious about everything! I’m smiling here.
It made me laugh just to think of everyone getting into their holidaymobiles and heading off behind the little robot’s back, Penny 😀
I suspend all incredulity following an incident when I observed a ‘satellite’ drift lazily across the sky apparently following its orbit, but then taking an instant right-angle turn before accelerating wildly off into the distance at a simply impossible speed.
Gracious. Explain THAT away. There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Col…
It only leaves one ‘rational’ explanation, which is hallucination. That I dismiss with contempt.
I think you should write the script for the next big Pixar cartoon. It could be the next Wall-E (or at least I think that’s what that movie was called). 🙂
Very entertaining post!
Thanks, Carrie, and congratulations on the number 39 slot on Amazon’s thriller list! Brilliant start – very exciting stuff…
Thank you! But sadly, that number has passed. Was tremendously fun while it lasted. 🙂
It still happened. And it augurs well for the future. Great kick-off.
Thanks. 🙂
“I have no choice but to evacuate the city as Martians approach”-Orson Welles
Quite the other way around now, isn’t it 🙂 Really all these pictures of Mars in the news is mindboggling.
Yes: the situation is inverted, though Curiosity means no harm other than a bit of rock-zapping….Welles was so very clever, wasn’t he?
Love it:)
But, oh so disappointed to have missed it all happening right above my head!
I did wonder, Fiona: I fancy I would have slept through everything as well. Which, according to John Wyndham in Day of the Triffids, is not such a bad idea…
Thanks for the heads up. I’d not heard about Jake. Shame on our media for being so fixated on politics and ignoring Curiosity.
Ah, yes, Jake the pet rock. Much more interesting than electioneering 😀 To Curiosity, at least!
The irony might be that UFO has landed on a planet and is probing it as well. The UFO is ours. It is humorous to think of Martians chortling away at this strange, slow-moving Curiousity.
Ray Bradbury wrote about a number of scenarios where earthlings went to Mars in the “Martian Chronicles.” Fascinating stuff. Your post as well.
I love Bradbury. Must go back and re-read some of his Chronicles, judy – thanks for the reminder!
Wonderful post, Kate. That light show sounds like quite an impressive sight to see. Tonight, we may head over to the island for Sidewalk Astronomy to see Mars through their high powered scopes.
Maybe we’ll be watching them watching us?
Any little green men, Nancy – make sure you tell us! What an exciting visit! Hope you’ll be blogging it?
I wish we had a BBC here. If Martians landed in Austin, I wouldn’t know whom to call. We don’t have anything that God would watch. Except Doc Martin on PBS.
I would love to see the lights in the sky! I enjoy just considering possibilities! I spend every evening from 10:00 pm to midnight listening to a radio show heavily dedicated to the extraterrestrial. Who’s to say? 🙂 Debra
I had to laugh at ‘and now it has become extremely preoccupied with a rock’. 🙂
Ha ha ha. By the way, I thought all the news came from Sky, no pun intended 😉
I tend to think that there’s a type of person inclined to hysterical visions whether it be UFO’s or imagining Christ’s face in a puddle of spaghetti sauce.
Love this post, Kate!
Sadly, I missed the lights in the sky the other night, but there is no surprise there… I usually tend to miss these astronomical events! However, I did see Halley’s Comet back in 1986 which makes up for it.
As for the martians… yes, they’ll be laughing at us (I imagine them laughing in the same way as those Smash Martians did many years ago!
Perhaps they’ll do a better job of managing the place than we are 🙂
Well I may not be a pretty shape but I move at similar speeds! 😉