NASA hid a secret message on the parachute that came ashore Rover perseverance down on the surface of Mars last week.
Internet sleuths say they have “broken code” hidden in images since the Mars rover took off last week. Colorful patterns in the parachute used for landing appear to be mysteriously inscribed with the phrase “Dare mighty things,” a motto used by the Sustainability team at NASA’s Jet Devolution Lab (JPL). in Pasadena, California, which is a mission control for the Perseverance Rover Mission. Also set out in the message are the geographical coordinates for JPL: 34 ° 11’58 “N 118 ° 10’31” W.
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“dare powerful things”! Well done! @NASA @NASAPersevere pic.twitter.com/Di1hkFQApdFebruary 22, 2021
At a press conference on Monday (February 22), NASA unveiled the first video taken by Perseverance while it was descending and landing on the Martian surface Feb. 18. Those who were. looking a distinctive red and white pattern on the inside of the parachute. Allen Chen, the entrant, rescuer and leader for the mission at the meeting confirmed that there was a hidden message, and feared the public decoding.
“As well as enabling amazing science, we hope our efforts in our engineering can inspire others,” Chen said during the meeting. “Sometimes we leave messages at work We want to find others for that purpose, so we invite you all to give it a look and showcase your work. “
The rover may even hide other secret messages, in addition to the team logo on the parachute, Chen told The Verge. “People can’t resist putting a little personal touch on their work… But most of them won’t know that – even me,” he said.
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So how does a seemingly normal parachute hide such a message? Well, using different shapes and patterns on the parachute cloth to represent different numbers, NASA’s team was able to display the messages in binary computer code, according to the Verge.
Depending on the shape and location of the red-and-white color patterns that revolve around the center of the parachute, the segments represent different numbers that can be translated through binary code. Surprisingly, people on the internet broke the code just hours after NASA released the video showing the rover landing.
“It looks like the internet has broken the code in something like 6 hours! Oh internet is there anything you can’t do?” NASA chief permanence engineer Adam Steltzner tweet about the impressive code crack.
It looks like the internet has broken the code in something like 6 hours! Oh internet is there anything you can’t do? For those who just want to find out: # Mars2020 #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/yTJCEnbuLYFebruary 23, 2021
This is not the first time JPL engineers have sent a secret message to another planet.
There were small holes going around the empty, aluminum wheels of the group’s Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012 and is still exploring the Red Planet to this day. These holes played an important role in allowing Martian pebbles to fall through instead of being locked in the vehicle’s wheels, but the holes also spelled a secret message: “JPL” in Morse code. So as the rover drives around the surface of Mars it enters “JPL” in Morse code into Martian land as it goes.
Email Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.