Alien Anomalies

On SOL 654, Opportunity Rover 'malfunctioned' and relayed the following picture from the Microscopic Imager while parked at Erebus Crater: 

Microscopic Imager Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 654 of Opportunity's mission to Meridiani Planum at approximately at approximately 11:16:50 Mars local solar time, Microscopic Imager dust cover commanded to be CLOSED. NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS

http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity_m654.html

See article for news coverage regarding this anomalous image and malfunction:

http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00000300

This is what NASA claims occurred...

SOL 649-660, Dec 01, 2005: Stalled Motor, Stowed Arm

Opportunity drove 43 meters on sol 649 (Nov. 20, 2005) and then bumped 10 meters to an outcrop for work with its robotic arm (instrument deployment device) over the Thanksgiving holidays. Opportunity's commands for sol 654 (Nov. 25, 2005) included unstowing the arm to begin using the tools on it for examining the layered outcrop that the rover had driven to three sols earlier. The arm is always stowed during drives. This time, a shoulder-joint motor that is needed for unstowing the arm stalled, and the arm stayed stowed. In subsequent sols, engineers worked to narrow the range of possibilities for the cause of the stall. Among the remaining possibilities is that, after working more than seven times longer than originally planned, the lubrication is degrading. One possible fix would be to increase the duration of the allowed motor start-up, to overcome the increased initial friction. The first diagnostic activity for the arm was performed sol 659, where a very small motion was recorded. Future diagnostic activities and continuing analysis will be performed to further characterize the shoulder-joint motor in upcoming sols.

As of sol 659 (Nov. 30, 2005), Opportunity has driven 6,502 meters (4.04 miles).

SOL 661-667, Dec 09, 2005: Encouraging Results from Shoulder-Motor Testing

Opportunity is currently parked at "Erebus Crater," where it has continued remote-sensing science while the team made progress in diagnosing why a motor in the robotic arm stalled on sol 654. The motor turned successfully when supplied with more current on sol 666 (Dec. 8, 2005), an encouraging result. The arm was still in a stowed position after that testing. Further tests and analysis are planned for determining the best strategy for future use of the arm. The arm, which deploys four tools for examining rocks and soils, has already operated more than seven times as long as originally planned.

This motor at the shoulder of the arm is necessary for getting the arm out of its stowed position. Earlier tests made some alternative explanations -- such as a physical obstruction or degraded lubrication -- appear unlikely. The sol 666 test established confidence in a hypothesis that a broken wire in the winding of the motor caused the sol 654 stall. The test rotated the motor four revolutions at each of three different applied voltages. Tests to characterize the motor's behavior will continue in the coming week.

In the target-rich environment of outcrop exposed in and near Erebus, Opportunity has acquired a color panorama of the surroundings, a color mosaic of itself, and high-resolution images of several outcrop targets. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer successfully collected data on some high-priority science targets during sol 664 (Dec. 6, 2005). Informal names for targets examined in this vicinity by the panoramic camera include "Drake," "ChinoValley," "Bellemont," "CampVerde," "Young," "Cherry," and "Paulden."

Opportunity did not drive this week. The rover's odometry total as of sol 666 remained 6,502 meters (4.04 miles).

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/opportunity-update.html

Here is an image of the Microscopic Imager:

The microscopic imager (circular device in center) is in clear view above the surface at Meridiani Planum, Mars, in this approximate true-color image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The image was taken on the 9th sol of the rover's journey. The microscopic imager is located on the rover's instrument deployment device, or arm. The arrow is pointing to the lens of the instrument. Note the dust cover, which flips out to the left of the lens, is open. This approximated color image was created using the camera's violet and infrared filters as blue and red.

Image Credit:

NASA/JPL/Cornell/Texas A&M

Image Addition Date:

2004-02-12

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05270

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I feel that there has not been a satisfactory explanation as to what exactly is shown in this group of images from SOL 654 nor how it occurred.   

This image shows what appears to be a hovering aircraft / spacecraft of some sort.  While just my own speculation, it does resemble some of the patents for disk-shaped craft on the following website.  http://www.rexresearch.com/wingless/wingless.htm

 Since it was taken with the microscopic imager, it seems odd that it would actually not be looking at anything on the surface as it typically does but instead looks like it took a picture at a horizontal angle at the same time the rover is supposed to be extending the arm.  While perhaps possible, we’ve been told that its focal range is insufficient for such pictures.  Also, something is obscuring the center of the photo from top to bottom.  Additionally, the horizon looks to be overlaid on a second background.  I thought perhaps this could simply be a lens-cover malfunction but it doesn’t seem like a feasible explanation.  There is some strange dark moisture or dust cloud that can be seen forming above an otherwise ‘clear’ Martian sky.  Nonetheless, NASA didn’t really explain how such an unusual event could and did occur to my satisfaction while just ‘sweeping it under the carpet’ and moving on with the MER mission. 

What are your thought regarding this strange rover malfunction and what is the image showing us?