Conspiracy theories about Mars

Mars images are taken on Earth

Mars institute (Devon Island)

This institute is sometimes used to prove that images of Mars are taken on Earth. In reality, it’s the Mars Institute, created to advance the scientific study and exploration of Mars, to conduct research and to educate the public about Mars exploration.

Mars Institute – Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This institute is located on Devon Island in Canada. This island is often covered in snow and when it isn’t, there are still patches of snow absolutely everywhere. It really would be the worst place to set up to simulate a Martian setting. Here are some satellite photos taken in August:

And even supposing they managed to get a large enough field without the slightest trace of snow, the ground would be damp, even soggy, with mud everywhere, following the melting of the snow:

The rovers on Mars (Curiosity, Opportunity, Spirit and Perseverance) send photos of the planet almost every day, totalling several million photos. Traces of snow, water or mud are not visible in any of them.

The dust

No dust on the rovers

The conspiracy theorists claim that it is impossible for the rovers to be present on Mars without any trace of dust on them. To do this, they use either black and white photos, or the first photos taken by the rovers, or photos of areas where there is little or no dust.

In reality, this is simply not true. The photos below show that the Curiosity rover is almost completely covered in dust:

There should be dust on the lenses of the photo lenses

Some cameras are protected against dust, here’s how:

The MAHLI camera is protected by a dust cover that opens when taking photos and is closed when not in use.

Mastcams have no such system. Instead, they rely on a sapphire outer glass for each lens, which offers protection against dust.

Navcams are pointed at the ground to limit the impact of dust.

Hazcam cameras have no special protection.