After a Google Earth User Thought He Found Atlantis, Will Google Mars Reveal Something NASA Can't Deny?

Google seems to have a never-ending stream of free online programs that help us see the world and universe in ways that push the boundaries of everything around us, near and far. While the map services they offer showing Earth in all its detail are starting to encroach on our privacy laws and bringing questions of how much clarity we want of the world around us, looking in on the desolate landscapes of other planets is a different story. After creating a program that enabled us to see the universe at every conceivable angle, now Google has a specific program available for the most fascinating and mysterious planet in our solar system: Mars. We now have the tools to look at current or recent surface pictures of the red planet, plus enabling never-before-seen (and likely inaccurate) maps of same surface from a century ago.

Yes, if there's any privacy laws there, heaven forbid we pay for it down the road War of the Worlds style.

Well, if you're with my train of thought, you'd agree that there likely isn't a group of one-eyed aliens riding in tripods on Mars hellbent on coming to Earth to destroy us with their Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. The definition of aliens as physical beings is a debate that usually gets tucked away too conveniently--just because we're automatically wired to believe there's a physical race different from ourselves. Putting more of a spiritual sense to beings that might have been on Mars (at one time) is obviously an overly cerebral debate, yet a better starting point in figuring out what might still be down there on the surface of Mars.

Whether you agree or not that the Sphinx-like face, the seeming artificial pyramids, the mysterious tubing canals or the oddball statue of a being are actually what they look like since discovered through previous Mars photography, they stand as a chance to use Google Mars in a way that sparks plenty of discussion. And when a user of Google Earth recently decided to use that software unusually to study the Atlantic Ocean while claiming to see the monuments of Atlantis, you know others with too much time on their hands are going to scour Google Mars to the core looking for clues to things NASA hasn't noticed.

Of course, this might be the ultimate way for NASA to say they aren't hiding anything as the instigator of the face on Mars, Richard C. Hoagland, keeps pressing...no matter how much NASA and other scientists says Hoagland is a quack. Since the debate on the Sphinx face is still intriguing and no definitive evidence exists that points one way or the other to it being real or misunderstood, it wouldn't be surprising to guess the first thing Google Mars users will zoom in on is the face or the iconic Cydonia region where those artificial pyramids are said to be. Because the images available on Google Mars are taken from the spacecraft Odyssey orbiting the planet, chances are that people will just see the Sphinx face in the same way the infamous HiRISE photo from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter two years saw it: A faceless rock.

Those looking to see if they see anything new there will likely be disappointed or cry conspiracy if they subscribe to the theory of NASA covering up images--even through Google. But chances are those who don't want to jump on the Hoagland pedestal to try and uphold his assertions of an ancient Mars civilization may ultimately dredge up all-new fascinating discoveries on Mars never noticed before.
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No, we won't give any kind of derogatory title to those who have the extra minutes, hours or days to sit around studying Mars' surface on the net for anything missed by anyone similarly obsessed. The same will be said of the guy who took the time to study the Atlantic Ocean on Google Earth and claiming he found Atlantis when 99% of GE users are more apt to take their time soaring over someone's outdoor swimming pool. If it wasn't for those more obsessive scouts, though, we may never be aware of things that the most detail-oriented scientists might have missed. It's also a new breeding ground for more conspiracies of what's being hidden on Mars.

Should it lead to that, having them scoped out by ordinary citizens is the only hope in the immediate term of coming closer to the truth. Those people don't have agendas or want to do it for profit as Hoagland is accused of by every reputable scientist extant. Nevertheless, as with the guy who claimed to find Atlantis on Google Earth, it'll be the scientist's word over the lay scientist's assertion if something unusual is found on Google Mars. It'll add more fuel to the increasing debate over whether scientists are really the best source for the ultimate truth or if we need to capitulate to their every word.

The logical route to go for those searching out unusual things on Mars is for them to use their own deduction methods and create one's own diffuse picture. Those spending large amounts of time scouring the surface of Mars on Google Mars are likely deep thinkers anyway where any new discovery can set off a wave of cerebral thought like no other. Obviously, the only problem is getting their discovery noticed in the first place, despite that not being a problem today when the Atlantis guy had front-page headlines within 48 hours.

Through the aid of Google, the media is quasi relying on those OCD-laden scouts of our planet and universe to unveil the untold secrets of our past and likely future. Even if some of those discoveries are false alarms and misunderstandings of nature, the world has enough of those scouts out there to inevitably find something compelling that could shift our personal worldview.

Mars is just too fascinating not to be examined by ordinary people who merely want to place the red planet into some kind of profound context to our existence. All of the intriguing and unsolved mysteries to date keeps it open to evidence of something profound once happening there in relation to our planet--if ultimately not even close to what pop culture dictates. So while we watch the SETI program become a big waste as computer users connected to it wait interminably for a signal, Mr. or Miss Average Geek may just find something on the surface of Mars through Google Mars that goes beyond scrutiny and proves the red planet was once inhabited by something greater than ourselves.

In the event we eventually populate there to bring everything full circle, at least Google Earth users won't be able to peer into your backyard swimming pool--unless it's in an anti-gravity see-thru dome...

Sources:

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/03/14/Google_Mars_offering_up-to-date_images/UPI-68411237055210/

http://www.enterprisemission.com/hoagland.html