There are some special anniversaries, and the 20th anniversary of a drawing on Mars is one of them. Back in 2004, NASA scientists were maneuvering the Spirit rover on Mars. They did something similar to what I did in high school: drawing doodles. While I was drawing in the locker room, they were drawing a crude picture of male genitalia on the planet’s surface, 186 million miles away. It was a small step for man, but a big leap for… phallic symbols in space.
According to Futurism, NASA scientists say this is just a regular maneuver for the rover, and they’ve done similar drawings with other rovers like Opportunity and Curiosity. It’s like a sausage party on the fourth planet from the sun!
Some people think the NASA engineers are just joking around. They believe the rover’s movement just happened to draw a pen*s shape, but it’s all part of the plan. They probably have other maneuvers that spell out “Wash Me” too, right?
In 2013, when the images first came out, NBC News tried to explain why the rover’s tracks looked like private parts. They said the rover has six wheels, and when it turns, the wheels leave behind two parallel tracks. If the turn is sharp enough, you get a nice circle at the end of the tracks.
I think it’s cool that the NASA employees are having fun with their work. These rovers need to turn anyway, so why not make it interesting with a little artwork?
