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Mars Rover spots new object

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How long have color digital cameras been around now? There are like 20 mega pixel cameras on cell phones these days. Granted the senors are not great, but jesus, we couldn't outfit our multi-million (billion?) dollar rover with a better camera....Why cant the rover just drive over to that debris and examine it up close. Why is the rover even up there if not to investigate things like this..."Oh look this blurry odd shaped piece of debris is over there, I wonder what it could be?....welp, time to go the other direction now."

Perhaps this comment does not pertain to this photo, since it is likely just rover debris, but all too often there are truly interesting things shown on the surface of mars, and the rover never gets any closer.
 
withoutlimits09 said:
How long have color digital cameras been around now? There are like 20 mega pixel cameras on cell phones these days. Granted the senors are not great, but jesus, we couldn't outfit our multi-million (billion?) dollar rover with a better camera....Why cant the rover just drive over to that debris and examine it up close. Why is the rover even up there if not to investigate things like this..."Oh look this blurry odd shaped piece of debris is over there, I wonder what it could be?....welp, time to go the other direction now."

Perhaps this comment does not pertain to this photo, since it is likely just rover debris, but all too often there are truly interesting things shown on the surface of mars, and the rover never gets any closer.
Click to expand...

To be fair the technology wasn't that far along for the Opportunity. And with the Curiosity rover, the specs were defined in 2004 when a 2MP camera didn't sound like such a bad idea, I don't know that anyone knew that how quickly the technology would advance. The technology has advanced even more since 2011, when the rover was launched into space. I'm also sure that these cameras are specially built to withstand the Martian atmosphere and that takes money, so they are probably Tonka toys compared to our cheap digital phones and tablets. See the articles below regarding the camera specs:
Mars rover camera project manager explains 2MP camera choice
Why does the $2.5 billion Curiosity use a 2-megapixel camera? - ExtremeTech

And we are stuck for the time being. NASA is using the same kind of camera on the NASA 2020 rover. Boo.
 
withoutlimits09 said:
How long have color digital cameras been around now? There are like 20 mega pixel cameras on cell phones these days. Granted the senors are not great, but jesus, we couldn't outfit our multi-million (billion?) dollar rover with a better camera....Why cant the rover just drive over to that debris and examine it up close. Why is the rover even up there if not to investigate things like this..."Oh look this blurry odd shaped piece of debris is over there, I wonder what it could be?....welp, time to go the other direction now."

Perhaps this comment does not pertain to this photo, since it is likely just rover debris, but all too often there are truly interesting things shown on the surface of mars, and the rover never gets any closer.
Click to expand...
Don't you ever wonder if all this is some sleight of hand on America's part? The Chinese and Russia are talking about setting up a Moon base in order to go to Mars. The US says virtually nothing about any of this. It makes me think that the US already has done these things.

We might be established on the Moon and the US public are none the wiser. Have we gone to Mars or maybe we are already working towards that goal? One thing is certain. The US spends more on their so called 'defense budget' than any other country. No one outside the military or government knows where all that money is being spent.

I suggest a secret space program, in place for many years, is not out of the realm of possibility. Can anyone say 'Gary McKinnon?'
 
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