Ingenuity: A tiny spot on NASA’s picture sparks conspiracy theories
NASA engineers plan to send a miniature helicopter whirring just above the surface of Mars in an interplanetary aviation experiment that, if successful, would mark the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft on another celestial body.
Mars helicopter Ingenuity touched down on the surface of the Red Planet after being dropped by its mother ship, the Perseverance rover, the space agency announced late Saturday.
Hours later, the Twitter account of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted the picture of the helicopter on the Mars with a caption that read, “Safe & sound on the surface of Mars: the #MarsHelicopter, Ingenuity, has survived the first cold night on its own, a major milestone for the small rotorcraft because surface temps can plunge as low as -130 degrees F (-90 degrees C).”
While most of the people were in awe of the achievement made by the NASA scientists, there were some who noticed something “fishy” in the picture from Mars.
Multiple users zoomed-in shots of the NASA picture, pointing to a black spot on the screen and seeking explanations. The spot was also visible in the picture shared by NASA’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts.
Some people came up with funny replies while others offered serious explanations. A user wrote it might be “a piece of electrical tape on the camera lens.The mechanics forgot to peel off before starting.”
Check out the original tweet and some reactions below:
