NASA Sued for Failure to Examine 'Sudden' Appearance of a White Rock as Possible Sign of Life on Mars

Earlier this week, we reported that NASA was being sued because the space agency had failed to conduct a proper examination of of a white rock as "life" on Mars, which had mysteriously appeared in front of the agency's Opportunity rover. The space agency had already concluded it was a rock; the lawsuit alleges that NASA did not properly examine the object well enough to conclude that. NASA said the appearance of the rock perhaps caused by the nearby impact that sent the rock toward the rover, or, most likely, Opportunity knocked the rock from the ground and no one noticed until later.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court Northern District of California by self-described cosmologist Rhawn Joseph, claiming the white rock was a living thing and is seeking an order forcing NASA and its Administrator, Charles Boulden, to investigate the rock more diligently. Joseph, who is a founder of the online Journal of Cosmology, asks NASA to "perform a public, scientific, and statutory duty which is to closely photograph and thoroughly scientifically examine and investigate a putative biological organism."

"When examined by Petitioner," the suit states, "the same structure in miniature was clearly visible upon magnification and appears to have just germinated from spores. The refusal to take close up photos from various angles, the refusal to take microscopicimages of the specimen, the refusal to release high resolution photos, is inexplicable, recklessly negligent, and bizarre," the lawsuit alleged.

NASA responed to PopSci.com: "This is an ongoing legal matter and we are limited in what we can discuss about the filing. However, NASA has been publicly sharing our ongoing research into the rock dubbed “Pinnacle Island" since we originally released the images from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity earlier this month. The rock, which NASA is studying to better understand its chemical composition, also was widely discussed during a Jan. 22 NASA Television news conference. As we do with all our scientific research missions, NASA will continue to discuss any new data regarding the rock and other images and information as new data becomes available."

The Daily Galaxy via NASA and PopSci

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State University

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