Mining Mars

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Mining Mars!
In my seasoned opinion some Mars images seem to show what may be or may have been mining on the surface. Officially most of these are referenced as "Exhumed craters" by MSSS, a naming indicative of a well tuned sense of irony, and a term which I find to be a most revealing and befitting; Exhumed by whom?

Who is mining Mars? Perhaps we need to be! The mineral wealth of an entire planet lies before us, wide open to our satellite eyes.

M0401289 The Coppermine.

http://barsoom.msss.com/moc_gallery/ab1_m04/images/M0401289.html

When shown with a couple of earthen examples, we can see some fair amount of familiar similarities, the result is pretty striking

Inside the blue box above is what appears to be very intricate structure along the bottom rim. In the green box is a pit mine in Nevada,
and in the orange box at top is the stunningly similar Copper pit at Ajo AZ.

MSSS certainly took a particular interest in this feature, as can be seen by their composite image of the entire "crater" seen here, they call it "bullseye" in the file name. Click the image for a great view of the area via their released presentation page.

Interestingly like the Kennecott Mine in Utah
Click image for high res

Here's another pit of questionable origin.
from SP123304.

http://barsoom.msss.com/moc_gallery/ab1_m04/images/SP123304.html

I've often surmised that mining has been going on in many places on Mars' surface. One day soon maybe it'll be us, or maybe it was. I did this comparison in a mere few minutes research, when will we wake up as a whole and realize that things are sometimes not at all as they are supposed to be.

I've found other areas very similar to the above. layered pits, appearing to be artificially extracted, let's view them.

This one's E05-01626

Don't miss the other interesting goodies about besides the pits...

http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/mer2003/mocs/Images/E05-01626/

M1302043 High Thern's Realm

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/m13_m18/images/M13/M1302043.html

Click thumbnail below for high res.

Now let's get a bit more specific again

R2200737

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r22_s04/images/R22/R2200737.html

Click image below for high res

and for a nearly indisputable case, look at the layered striations dug out of this next pit

S0400438

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r22_s04/images/S04/S0400438.html

Click image for high res

This image has absolutely strikingly terraced extraction trenches, and till piles

What would these trenches look like from a lot closer?

No, that's not some secret Mars image from a black satellite, it's an aerial view of a strip mine.

Now let's see another Martian example, this one in color courtesy of Dr. Neukum/ESA/Mars Express

Now let's look at it from the side

Remarkably similar. By all appearances, someone has been practicing opencast mining on Mars.

Don't take my word for it, take a stroll around earthen mining sites with Google Earth, and then go to MSSS,
or the Themis and Mars Express websites, Explore Mars, see for yourself

This look at possible mining is far from over, I continue to search for corroboration;
In fact, we've hardly scratched the surface
return for updates.

"On a satellite I ride, nothing down below can hide"