This page was written by Sir Charles Schults III in 2004 and was originally posted here: http://www.xenotechresearch.com/skyfraud.htm but the whole site has now disappeared. Please see these pages [1] [2] for additional info:

Absolute Proof Of Deception

   Not only is NASA faking the sky colors on Mars, but they planned to do it at the mission start!

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   I have finally found absolute, undeniable and irrefutable proof that NASA is indeed lying about the sky color on Mars- and that it was planned well before the launch of the MER landers!  The proof is on their own hardware and posted on the Internet for anyone to see.

   Remember that NASA uses a calibration fixture to help set the illumination and color balance in its images from the panoramic cameras?  Well, included on each calibration target is a pair of "sky mirrors" that are intended to reflect the color of the sky so that it can be compared to the absolute color references and a true color image of the sky can be generated.  Here is the original color calibration target as it appears on the Earth.

In this image of the first calibration target, you can see that the right and left portions have some graduated scale and not mirrors.    The left one is between the red and green reference chips and the right one is between the yellow and blue reference chips.    Also notice that this first run model has a brass colored vertical shaft instead of the matte black shaft that is featured on the later version.    We will call this figure 1.
This image shows the later generation calibration fixture and the differences are pretty clear.  First and most notable is the replacement of the center shaft with a matte black vertical (which is meant to cut down on reflections and provide an "absolute" black reference color).    The second change is that the graduated scales have been replaced with milled and polished aluminum surfaces that act as mirrors and reflect the background.  You can see at the 4:30 and 10:30 positions that the polished mirror strips show reflections of the ceiling or some other items.  They appear to show electrical conduits.    This is meant to show the true sky color and brightness so they can be compared with the known color and brightness of the calibration fixture.  In this manner, very accurate color images could be created, even if the lighting was poor.  We will call this figure 2.
This is an image from very early on in the mission, returned from Mars.  We will call this figure 3.  See the "mirror strips" on each side?  They show a dark pink color.  This is from Spirit.    Now, this is very important to spot- these mirrors always appear the same, uniform pink color on the reference fixture once it is on Mars- even when it is evening, regardless of the angle and regardless of surroundings.  Yet if you look at the bare metal where the lettering is on the fixture, it shows bright reflections- much brighter than the "mirror strips".  This is the first clue that these mirrors are not what they are supposed to be!    Let's see if there are any other images that indicate that these are not mirrors at all.
This image is from Opportunity.  The baseplate is a deep brown on this lander, as opposed to the nearly black baseplate on Spirit.  I assembled this image from the raw data from Sol 007.  Just at its corner, you can see a shadow from the sundial vertical falling on the aluminum and the mirror surface.    But that in itself is odd- a shadow falling on a mirror will not be seen!  After all, a mirror will reflect what is in its field of view, not a shadow falling across it!  Try it yourself.    The light seen from that shadow-covered edge is in fact ambient illumination, the sourceless and shadowless light that is reflected from nearby surfaces all around an object.  In photography, bounce lighting takes this effect and uses it for shadow-free pictures.  This is figure 4.
I decided to look for images where the mirrors had to catch bright reflections, just to see if they were indeed mirrors.  The trick would be to find images where the sun is directly in front of the camera.    If the camera was ever facing the sun, the gnomon (the vertical part) of the sundial would cast a shadow directly at the camera.  I located such a shot on Sol 065.  Here it is, and this is figure 5.    We can see some dust is accumulating on the fixture, but the overall color is still excellent.  However, note three very curious things about this image.  First, the aluminum lettering zones are very bright with reflected sunlight and skyglow.  Second, the steel washers on either side of the fixture are also reflecting bright sunlight, and probably the sky around it.  Third, the "mirrors" are exactly the same shade of pink and show NO reflected light!  These are definitely NOT mirrors.

   Let's take a magnified view of this image, because what it shows is so important.

This shows exactly what I am pointing out.  Virtually every metal surface that can reflect is showing what is clearly bright sky and sunlight.  That color is white, not pink.  The "mirrors", however, are showing something that is NOT sky.    They show something darker and pink, and not one hint of the sun or the bright sky around it.  How can a flat metal washer show a bright reflection at virtually the same angle as the mirror, yet the mirror cannot?    This proves that these pink strips are showing a fixed color, and not an image of the sky- that story is a fraud.    The pink strips are nothing more than painted or tinted areas.

Finally, this image is from Sol 208, Opportunity.  In this image the shadow of the gnomon falls directly across the left mirror strip- but instead of the mirror showing the sky (as it should), it shows a dark shadow from the gnomon.    A mirror will never do this- it will show the sky, not the shadow.  The only way that this shadow can be present is if the strip is not a mirror.  This image absolutely proves that the "sky mirrors" are fakes.    This, figure 6, is the final piece of evidence that there are no sky mirrors at all on the Marsdial- only strips painted or tinted pink so that NASA can claim that it is the true sky color.  But none of this explains why NASA has been holding this provably false position for decades.    The raw red (L4), green (L5), and blue (L6) frames are here.

    In the course of assembling this data, one person who frequents this site pointed out to me a PDF file that shows how to make a model of the Marsdial.  It includes the dimensions, the artwork, and a set of instructions that can be followed by any school child.  The most interesting part is where the procedure refers to using aluminum foil to substitute for sky mirrors but says that they are optional- and the artwork shows pink strips in their places!

    This was certainly some sort of overlooked gaff on the part of the writer, but is perfectly apt when applied to the reality.  NASA did indeed make those mirrors an optional feature and replaced them with pink strips.

Putting all the evidence together

   Now, let's review each point and see what it leads us to.

   First, in figure 2 we can see that the aluminum mirrors reflect the background clearly, including details.  In the right reflector, we can see what appears to be a pair of conduits or pipes.  And, the aluminum that bears the lettering also shows a reflection- matte and blurred, true, but of the same overall color of the background.

   Second, in figure 3 we can see that the "mirror" strips show a dull pink that is much darker than the reflection in the lettering strips.  How can that be?  The matte finish does not reflect the same as a mirror, but it should give substantially the same color as a mirror, but blurred.  It does not.

   In figure 4 we see something dull pink in the "mirrors" but the metal is bright with gray light.  There is also a faint shadow falling across the "mirror" on the left.  How can a shadow fall on a mirror, when to see it, that shadow would have to be on the object being reflected?

   In figure 5 it is clear that the right and left "mirror" strips are NOT mirrors because they are exactly the same shade of pink-gray even when the sun, which is clearly reflecting on other metal surfaces, should be lighting them up brilliantly!  The sun angle is proven by the sundial shadow, and all flat metal in the region is showing bright reflections from left, middle, and right of these "mirrors"- yet the so-called mirrors show the same flat pink paint that has apparently been applied to them.  The annotated figure 5 is even more direct and clear on this point.

    In figure 6 the image shows a perfect dark shadow across the mirror surface, far more clearly than the tip of the shadow in figure 4.  This is not some slight darkening from perhaps dust on the mirror- the sky is in no way being reflected at all, and instead the dull, matte finish of this pink strip is revealed.  In other words, this is absolute proof that these are not mirrors at all.

   But take note of this fact- in no case does any color image show the calibration fixture and the sky simultaneously!  This is because to do so would immediately make clear the deception that has been passed off on us.  Why will NASA never show the color calibration fixture and the sky at the same time?  There are some navigation camera images that do this, but you cannot construct a color image from the navigation cameras, since they use broadband light including infrared and there is no way to sort it into various colors, as the filters allow us to do with the panoramic cameras.

Conclusions

   In order for NASA to preserve the illusion that Mars is far more alien than expected, someone decided to replace the mirrors with a pair of selected pink strips so they could claim that this was the color of the sky.  This means that it was a planned, premeditated act.  A mirror will not show a hard shadow across its surface, and the illumination of the reflected object should show its brightness regardless of a shadow falling across the mirror face.

    You can prove this for yourself.  Lay a mirror on the ground, then try to cast a shadow across it in the sunlight.  Have somebody help you try this from various angles.  You will see that it is absolutely impossible to make a shadow fall on the mirror, because it will reflect the sky, not the shadow.  And, try coating it with dust from talcum powder, which has the approximate consistency of Martian dust.  Now try again- and it still will reflect sky, and not show a shadow.

   Notice how clearly the lettering (which is also on milled aluminum and quite reflective) shows the true color of the sky- gray or blue and (very important) substantially brighter than the "mirror" strips!  This shows the absolute sky color and the pink strips are nothing more than a lie.

   Once again, I ask the question- what has NASA to gain by lying?  Proof of water, fossils, blue skies and life are all that they have been searching for, yet they continue to hide these results.  You would think that revealing this information would provide them with immense new funding for expanded projects and more science.  It makes no sense whatsoever to hide these results, and it sends a very confusing message to the public at large.  However, it is now painfully clear that they have some unknown reason for not sharing their findings with the very people who pay for their projects.

UPDATE:   In a truly bizarre twist, the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for October 1, 2004 shows an image of an asteroid (Toutatis) with the Earth in the background.  In this image, the Earth is Mars red!  And the image credits?  JPL and NASA, of course.  What in the world does it mean?  Click here to see the full sized image in question.

DONE