Decoding the Potential Hidden Code in the Mars Rover Parachute
Many space-themed
Facebook groups, and users on Reddit, claim to have cracked the code. Both platforms claim that the phrase “Dare mighty things” is hidden on the parachutes. This is a motto by Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The message is hidden using a pattern representing letters as binary computer code.
The Guardian explains how to decode the picture:
Each of the concentric rings in the parachute’s pattern represents one of the words. The zeroes and ones need to be split up into chunks of 10 characters, and from that, adding 64 gives you the computer ASCII code representing a letter. For example, seven white stripes, a red stripe and then two more white stripes represents 0000000100, the binary for four. Adding 64 to that gives 68, the ASCII code for the letter D.