A scientist has filed a lawsuit against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in California court. Photos taken by NASA’s Opportunity rover on Sol 3528 and Sol 3540 (January 8) showed a dramatic difference. Images below show that a mysterious rock, which was absent on Sol 3528 (left), appeared on an image taken on Sol 3540 (right). NOTE: Sol is a Martian day. Sol 3528 indicates the 3528th day since the Opportunity rover landed on Mars. A Martian day is measured by the sun’s movement, and has 24 hours and 40 minutes.
NASA hasn’t seen anything like that before
Neuropsychologist and author Rhawn Joseph claims that the mysterious rock on Mars isn’t actually a rock, rather, it’s a living thing. Joseph sued NASA for its decision to decline further investigation. The lawsuit demands that the agency thoroughly investigate and examine the object that appeared out of nowhere. Lead scientist Steve Squyres has dubbed the rock “jelly donut.” The object appears white on the surface with a red center.
NASA research team admitted that they haven’t seen anything like that before, but they determined it to be a rock. The agency even offered a dull explanation that the Opportunity’s tires might have knocked the rock. But Joseph said it’s an illogical conclusion because the images don’t show any debris field or any evidence of the tires’ impact.
Will NASA fulfill Joseph’s demands?
The author of multiple books and a self-labelled astrologist said in the court filing that it could be “a putative biological organism.” He said the object wasn’t moved by the Opportunity’s tires or anything else. It was already there and grew during the 12 day period (Sol 3528 to Sol 3540) to its present size. Rhawn Joseph also demanded that NASA provide him 24 microscopic images and 100 high-resolution photos of the object.
Joseph’s writings have appeared in a journal called Cosmology. He said in the court filing that if the mysterious object is found to be a biological organism, NASA must acknowledge that Rhawn Joseph made the discovery, and his name should appear as the first author on the first six articles published on the discovery.
NASA said that it doesn’t comment on legal matters that are before the court. But the agency will continue with further studies on the rock’s composition.