Spirit spots Rodent Life on Mars
 

In a 3/18/04 JPL press released image of Spirit's panorama half way around Bonneville crater http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040318a/07-JG-01-pan-A074R1.jpg,

what do we see?  You have to zoom in and look close, but there is a mouse like, 4 legged rodent, walking on it's hind 2 feet.  Sure enough, 2 eyes , 2 ears, 4 furry legs, Its face is somewhat shovel like, so I assume that it is a burrowing creature.

 

It looks similar to another rodent like creature that we saw at Spirit's first Bonneville crater stop, although this one appears to be dead.  In this picture we can see the furry legs and tail, the shovel faced head, and we can see that the front paws are shaped more like a hand than a paw.

 

Why is NASA so afraid to be open with the public?  They must certainly have higher resolution photos than they publish on the website.  They must be able to see this creature better than us or, are they blind to anything but dead rocks?

 

Regards,

 

John Kooiman