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| UFO Streaks Through Martian Sky |
| "Astronomers say it could be the first meteor seen from the surface of another world, or a redundant orbiting spacecraft sent to Mars 30 years ago. "We may never know, but we are still looking for clues," Said Dr. Mark Lemon, from Texas A&M University. Whatever it was, Spirit was lucky enough to catch sight of the UFO as the rover's main mission is to look downwards to study rocks and soil on the planet. UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT Only occasionally does it raise it's sights to the sky to study the atmosphere of Mars. But it was on just such an occasion when spirit was observing the sky with the green filter of it's panoramic that the roving geologist came across a surprise - a streak across the peach-colored Martian heavens. Mission controllers say the streak was probably the brightest object in the sky at the time. If the UFO was not a shooting star, then it could have been one of the seven out-of-commission spacecraft that still orbit Mars. From the object's motion, scientist do not think it was the Russian probes Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 5, or Phobos 2; or the American probes Mariner 9 or Viking 1. That leaves Viking 2, which has a polar orbit that would fit with the North-South orientation of the streak. In addition, only Viking 1 and 2 are in orbits that could the type motion as fast as seen by Spirit. (Story courtesy of BBC). |