The 'Tether Incident' Yes, we know – this looks like a black-and-white ring toss game, but what is actually pictured is a tether (the stick-like object) protruding from the back end of a NASA shuttle and an unidentified object floating in its radius. The "tether incident" happened in 1996, but a new high-def look at it by UFO believers is giving alien conspiracy theorists new ammunition.
Photos: Check out these other wild "alien encounters" space watchers spotted on NASA cameras ...
UFO believers say there is more to these NASA images than the space agency wants the public to know.AFP/Getty Images/Getty Images
Dinosaur skull found on Mars?
The Mars watchers at UFO Sightings Daily say this formation spotted in a NASA photo from Mars resembles a fossilized dinosaur head. We say it looks like a rock. Can you see it?
MASA Mars Exploration
Dinosaur skull found on Mars?
The Mars watchers at UFO Sightings Daily say this formation spotted in a NASA photo from Mars resembles a fossilized dinosaur head. We say it looks like a rock.
MASA Mars Exploration
A coffin on Mars?
An online group has purportedly spotted a coffin on Mars.
What other oddities have been spotted on Mars?
NASA
Obama on Mars?
UFO Sightings Daily says it has spotted a statue of President Barack Obama on Mars in a composite image taken from NASA rover cameras. We think it's a rock. What's your take?
UFO Sightings Daily
A statue on Mars?
NASA inserted the arrows into this photo, likely from the 1997 Pathfinder mission, to point out rock features. Can you see it? (NASA / JPL)
A statue on Mars?
UFO Sightings Daily believes this formation looks like a statue head looking up, with its chin and lips to the far left, and nose, eyes and forehead to the right.
Check out these other weird oddities spotted on the surface of Mars including strange lights, a cross and even a cat ...
NASA
An iron cross on Mars?
Can you see the cross surrounded by a circle on this image taken by a NASA rover camera on Mars?
(NASA / JPL)
An iron cross on Mars?
What about now? Can you see the cross surrounded by a circle on this image taken by a NASA rover camera on Mars?
Check out these other weird oddities supposedly seen on the surface of Mars ...
NASA
A man sitting on Mars?
Can you see the sitting figure in this photo captured by a NASA rover?
NASA
A man sitting on Mars?
What about now?
Can you see the sitting figure in this photo captured by a NASA rover?
NASA
A cannon on Mars?
This high-resolution image from the Mars rover Curiosity, taken July 29, 2014, includes what some viewers describe as a small artillery cannon, seen on the left, just above the mid-point. Can you see it?
A cannon on Mars?
What about now?
Not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you worry about a Martian attack. Our verdict: just another rock.
Check out these other weird oddities spotted on the surface of Mars, including a cat, a space iguana, thigh bones and a mysterious light ...
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
A traffic light on Mars?
UFO watchers say that this NASA photo reveals an oddly human-like creation on the surface of Mars? Can you see it?
NASA
A traffic light on Mars?
What about now? OK, so it's probably not actually a traffic light, but you've got to admit it's a pretty strangely-shaped object to be standing on its end in the middle-of-nowhere on Mars.
Check out these other weird discoveries on Mars, including a cat, bones, a lizard and even a child's toy ...
NASA
Bones on Mars?
The space watchers at UFOblogger.com say this image shot by NASA's Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars shows what looks like a thigh bone. Can you see it?
NASA
Bones on Mars?(Highlighted)
What about now?
Check out these other dubious findings space-watchers have found in Mars rover images ...
NASA
Dinosaurs on Mars?
The space watcher "TRUTHSEEKER" on YouTube claims this image taken by the Mars rover shows two dinosaurs on the surface of the red planet.
YouTube user "UFOs and SpacE" claims this photo shows a light from a UFO landing on the surface of Mars. the image was captured by the Mars Rover in 2014. Check out the next slide for a zoomed in shot and decide for yourself.
Now check out these other so-called Mars creatures spotted on MASA satellite images.
NASA Rover Image
A buffalo on Mars?
Are buffalo at home on the range of Mars? The alien observers at UFO Sightings Daily say this Mars rover image shows a lonely buffalo wandering the wide open spaces of the red planet. Can you see it?
NASA
A buffalo on Mars?
What about now?
Are buffalo at home on the range of Mars? The alien observers at UFO Sightings Daily say this Mars rover image shows a lonely buffalo wandering the wide open spaces of the red planet.
NASA
A bear on the surface of Mars?
An object in the shape of a bear cub can be seen in a recent photo from Mars taken by a NASA rover.
Can you see it?
NASA
What about now?
An object in the shape of a bear cub can be seen in a recent photo from Mars taken by a NASA rover.
NASA
An object that look strikingly similar to a Glock-like handgun was spotted by a NASA Mars rover in a recent photo posted by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).NASA JPL
An object that look strikingly similar to a Glock-like handgun was spotted by a NASA Mars rover in a recent photo posted by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).NASA JPL
Alien conspiracy site UFO Sightings Daily says that an skeleton remains of a creature on Mars can be seen on this photo taken by the Mars rover Curiosity. The photo zoomed in on the "skeletal remains"
In the world of UFOs, believers are still talking about the well known "tether incident."
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The incident happened Feb. 25, 1996, during Space Shuttle Columbia's STS-75, the 75th Space Transportation System mission flown by one of the four space shuttles.
The mission was to be highlighted by the flight of a joint NASA/Italian Tethered Satellite System designed to investigate new sources of spacecraft power and ways to study Earth's upper atmosphere, according to a NASA statement at the time.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
On Feb. 25, Day 4 of a 15-day mission, the crew began to deploy the satellite and its 12 miles of "tether," a cable that could conduct electricity.
"The world watched as the satellite smoothly and gently lifted from its cradle atop the latticework boom that previously had been extended some 40 feet (11.3 meters) out of Columbia's cargo bay. The crew continues carefully unreeling the satellite on its slender tether," NASA stated in a summary of Day 4 highlights.
But things went awry. At about 7:30 p.m., short of five hours into the satellite experiment, the tether broke and the satellite floated away.
A video clip of the drifting satellite and its attached 12-mile tether is still generating comment on YouTube.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Earlier this month, Stargazer Nation posted an enhancement of the original NASA footage that purportedly shows UFOs approaching the tether. On the video, the tether looks like a stick surrounded by bright dots and some larger white circles with a hole in the middle.
At the time of the incident, astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz explained the objects seen near the tether as "a little bit of debris that kind of flies with us." The debris, he said, was illuminated by the sun.
Later, John Tindall of the History Channel noted that the camera's telephoto lens was used with a circular mirror that had a hole in the middle, which left an artifact on the images.
Because the images on the camera were overexposed by bright sunlight, objects appeared brighter than they were, giving the illusion they were behind the tether rather than in front of it, Tindall said.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
In the summaries of each day's highlights, NASA online archives make no mention of UFOs or any strange sightings as the tether got away.
On Day 4, when the tether broke at about 7:30 p.m. Central time, the highlights note straightforwardly that the tether broke and neither the astronauts nor the space shuttle were injured.
"Following the break, Mission Control asked the astronauts to record television of the boom and broken tether for post-flight analysis," Day 4 highlights state.
If there were anomalies outside the shuttle window, they were left out of the highlights, which have the page-turning quality of a physics textbook.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
"Once the tether is retracted and the boom is restowed, the crew members will turn their attention to the science activities involving the U. S. Microgravity Payload," Day 5 highlights state. "The USMP experiments will study various aspects of materials science investigation."
In the words of Stargazer Nation, "some things must be believed to be seen."
Carol Christian reports on breaking news for chron.com. Since joining the Houston Chronicle staff in 1998, she has covered various beats, including criminal courts and transportation.
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, she holds a Master?s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a Master?s in sociology from Michigan State University.
Carol got started in journalism while teaching English in Poland during martial law.
![A toy boat left on Mars?The Mars lovers from Extraterrestrial TV YouTube Channel [http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIpL95_SHddquP_nUYlVNw] – who've seemingly never heard a NASA conspiracy they didn't like – have spotted what they believe is a child's toy boat left on the surface of Mars. (Check out a closer shot on the next slide.) How the boat ended up on a planet that is both deserted and desert-like is left to your imagination. So we're officially calling it: This is the worst Mars conspiracy EVER. Check out these other oddities claimed to have been spotted on Mars and tell us which you think you think is the worst.](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/30/55/01/6475850/4/ratio3x2_1920.webp "UFO watchers spot mysterious bone-like object on Mars")
