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NASA's 'Major' Mars Announcement Could Be Spectacularly Boring

As NASA Prepares To Make A 'Major' Mars Announcement, The World Prepares For The Worst

Video by Tom Compagnoni

It's probably not going to be aliens. That's the upshot of the many thousands of opinions shared after NASA indicated it would make a "major science announcement" about Mars at 1.30am AEST on Tuesday.

Conspiracy theorists, hardcore science lovers, laymen and Redditors are all weighing in on a rather sober announcement on the U.S. federal space agency's website on Friday saying, "NASA will detail a major science finding from the agency’s ongoing exploration of Mars".

First, came the jokes:

Then came the more learned opinions that this announcement would, most likely, be boring.

On social news site Reddit, user Lamlot offered: "I say its some chemical that is very common in life. Like large carbon deposits or something near where water should have been.

"I will eat a ghost pepper and YouTube it if its actual aliens."

Also on Reddit, user Coffeecor25 said: "It's most likely going to be something related to methane, but it's still cool to fantasize while we still can."

User The_Thylocene offered: "It's probably something that to the layman will seem really boring, but it will be exciting to someone who actually understands.

"Then again, it could also be life or Malaysia Airlines flight 370."

One genuine hint about the nature of the announcement comes from the speakers who will be present at the press conference.

Of the five experts, one is a PhD candidate in Planetary Science at Georgia Tech who had previously spotted what looked like evidence of water on Mars in 2011.

His presence in the line-up is fuelling speculation the announcement will be flowing water.

Then again, there's also some pretty intense talk current Hollywood blockbuster The Martian about Matt Damon being stranded on the red planet is going to be exposed as legit.

All will be revealed soon.

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