Armchair astronaut discovers Mars 'space station' using Google earth

dailymail.co.uk ^ | June 4, 2011

[Free ThinkerNY]

We have all heard of little green men from Mars.

But now an American 'armchair astronaut' claims to have discovered a mysterious structure on the surface of the red planet - by looking on Google earth.

David Martines, whose YouTube video of the 'station' has racked up over 200,000 hits so far, claims to have randomly uncovered the picture while scanning the surface of the planet one day.

Describing the 'structure' as a living quarters with red and blue stripes on it, to the untrained eye it looks nothing more than a white splodge on an otherwise unblemished red landscape.

He even lists the co-ordinates 49'19.73"N 29 33'06.53"W so others can go see the anomaly for themselves.

In a pre recorded 'fly by' video of the object, Mr Martines describes what he thinks the station might be.

He said: 'This is a video of something I discovered on Google Mars quite by accident.

'I call it Bio-station Alpha, because I'm just assuming that something lives in it or has lived in it.

[muir_redwoods]

I have no idea how large this structure is but haven’t we lost 3-4 space craft on Mars? Is there any reason not to believe the Russians have as well?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Free ThinkerNY.

David Martines, whose YouTube video of the 'station' has racked up over 200,000 hits so far... Describing the 'structure' as a living quarters with red and blue stripes on it, to the untrained eye it looks nothing more than a white splodge on an otherwise unblemished red landscape... [said] "I call it Bio-station Alpha, because I'm just assuming that something lives in it or has lived in it."

The late Arthur C. Clarke claimed that something resembling banyan trees were clearly visible in recent pix taken from Mars orbit. This makes perfect sense too, because the surface pressure on Mars is the same as Earth's atmospheric pressure at 40 miles altitude.

Why, yes, I am being ironic.

[SunkenCiv]

Nice SUV Al’s got there, too.

[Publius6961]

Bookmark

[cripplecreek]

Of course, Everybody knows that Banyan trees thrive in temperatures between -200 and -20.

[Signalman]

The Coordinates shown in the article are incorrect. The correct coordinates are:

71 49’19.73”N 29 33’06.53”W

Go to Google Earth, click “View” “Explore” “Mars”. Paste in the above coordinates in the “Fly To” dialog box and press “enter”.

[SunkenCiv]

There was a US (or maybe it was ESA/US) lander that didn’t land right and the next orbiter eventually found the crash site from orbit. This story reminds me of the persistent flap about a Russian craft some years ago which had just managed to make orbit around Mars, turn on its cameras, and saw the (natural) object just in time to record the probe’s own demise. A Russian source said the probe had collided with “something that wasn’t supposed to be there”, an unfortunate turn of phrase which has been saddled on ever since as proof that aliens control Mars.

The first-ever attempt at a Mars mission was by the USSR; Khruschev made a cryptic reference to it in one of his angry speeches, without going into detail, in case the mission failed — which it did. The first close-up photos of Mars (there are just a handful from the mission) date from nearly 50 years ago, a US probe which like others since failed to get to the right spot at the right time, and instead of entering orbit, did a flyby instead. While that aspect was disappointing, the photos took everyone’s breath away.

Probably won’t do that to anyone now, unfortunately, but I remain impressed:

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1964-077A

[dr_lew]

Here's a view from Google Earth. Note the given coordinates dropped the degrees and just gave minutes and seconds! I found this by scanning the circled area in the small scale view. I think it's obviously an artifact. The geologic features in this view show much lower resolution.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Once Tipper is through with him, he’ll be LIVING in an SUV, LOL!

Go, Tipper! Go! :)

Boy, what a year it’s been for these Dem Rat ‘leaders’, Eh? Algore kicked out of his house and now John Edwards facing 30 years in prison?

Couldn’t happen to two nicer fellows, LOL!

[cripplecreek]

I’m still pretty impressed with the Russian Venus landings.

[Kirkwood]

Looks like a crankshaft.

[SunkenCiv]

"I'm now convinced that Mars is inhabited by a race of demented landscape gardeners," Sir Arthur C. Clarke announced recently.

The author of 2001: A Space Odyssey was only half-joking. He claims that an image produced by the Mars Global Surveyor satellite shows "large areas of vegetation . . . like banyan trees." Most experts dismiss the idea. But Popular Science loves a free thinker, especially one as talented and charming as Sir Arthur. We questioned him in Sri Lanka via e-mail.

> Nicole Foulke

Popular Science What makes you so confident there is life on Mars?

Arthur C. Clarke The image is so striking that there is no need to say anything about it -- it's obviously vegetation to any unbiased eye.

PS What about animal life?

AC If there is vegetation, it seems probable there are other life-forms as well.

PS Few experts agree with you.

AC Remember how a certain Astronomer Royal said that space flight was 'utter bilge'?

[Indeed, Richard van der Reit Wooley said so in 1956 -- Ed.] But they are right to be cautious -- we still don't have 100 percent proof. I think it's in the high nineties!

PS Why are you so passionate about this?

AC Because nothing could be more important than the discovery of other life-forms. It's getting lonely down here.

[mass55th]

Looks like a White Castle restaurant to me.

[SunkenCiv]

Mars Needs Al Gore. I’m in for ten bucks.

Happy Face on Mars:
http://www.msss.com/education/happy_face/happy_face.html

Buzz Aldrin to NASA: U.S. Space Policy Is on the Wrong Track
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4322647.html

[Grizzled Bear]

It's my old office. I used to work there (on the planet Mars). The rent was cheap, but I got very little walk-in traffic and the long distance phone bills were horrendous.

Why didn't you simply link up through the trans-druidian sattelite system? You would have saved a bundle!

[kik5150]

It’s not on the Mars surface at all. It’s a satellite in orbit above Earth.

[machogirl]

Maybe Cynthia McKinney was right?

We did plant a flag and a base on Mars. /s

[UCANSEE2]

Here is a much better picture.

[SIDENET]

Looks like the wreckage of the SS Botany Bay on Ceti Alpha V.

(KHAAAAAAAN!!!)