Red Planet Drama

Mysterious Mars lights cover-up? UFO theorists don't buy NASA's explanation of phenomenon

A mysterious beam of light spotted by the Mars Curiosity rover has UFO enthusiasts over the moon, leading NASA to release an official statement quelling Internet rumors of alien nightclubs and secret underground civilizations.

Taken April 2 and 3, the images in question feature a vertical white speck shining up from a distant Martian hilltop. NASA experts remain committed to several simple explanations, like an unusual sunlight reflection or a glitch in a camera nearly 60 million miles from Earth.

But for conspiracy theorists and alien enthusiasts, the white blips are only further photographic evidence of life on Mars — something they allege the United States government wants to keep under wraps for reasons unknown.

Noted UFO bloggers like Scott C. Waring point to the manner in which the light appears to emanate directly from the barren landscape.

"This could indicate there is intelligent life below the ground and they use light as we do," Waring wrote Monday on his UFO Sightings Daily website, which includes a host of Curiosity images showing Martian rocks shaped like statues and humanoid faces.

"This is not a glare from the sun, nor is it an artifact of the photo process. ... Sure NASA could go and investigate it, but hey, they are not on Mars to discover life, but they're there to stall its discovery."

In a statement released this week after the speculation over the lights grew, Justin Maki of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory insists that that white spots like these are not uncommon in the thousands of images regularly sent from the Mars rover. He says similar visual anomalies are seen by the Curiosity team "nearly every week," most of which are likely caused by cosmic rays or sunlight reflecting off rock surfaces.

Maki, who help build Curiosity's stereoscopic camera system, also notes that the white spots were only seen in one of the camera's two "eyes." As such, researchers have struggled to pinpoint the exact source of the bright light — giving UFO fans a kernel of hope.

NASA officials and conspiracy theorists are scratching their heads about a mysterious beam of light photographed by the Mars Curiosity rover.

1 Mars attacks NASA images UFO Mars Curiosity rover

Photo courtesy of NASA

NASA officials and conspiracy theorists are scratching their heads about a mysterious beam of light photographed by the Mars Curiosity rover.

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Coworking News

New coworking space to open in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood

Office Evolution

A coworking space is opening in Dallas in a central location: Office Evolution, a Louisville-based coworking chain, will open what a release says is a "state-of-the-art coworking space" at 3500 Oak Lawn Ave. #360 in Dallas at the southeast corner of Lemmon Avenue.

No details on what makes it state-of-the-art, but construction is ongoing and an opening is anticipated in mid-October.

Office Evolution was founded in 2003 as a shared workspace-coworking environment, cultivated on the principles of "Ohana," the Hawaiian tradition that references family working toward a common goal. (The founder was from Hawaii.)

The company started out in Boulder, Colorado, then relocated its headquarters to Louisville. It's an affiliated brand of United Franchise Group, and is part of The Vast Coworking Group, which specializes in franchising within the coworking industry. All of their locations are franchised.

The Dallas location is owned by franchisee Michael Pickering, a Dallas native who runs a family-owned indoor soccer facility in Dallas. (There are two other Office Evolution locations in the DFW area in McKinney and Southlake, owned by different franchisees.)

They're describing the Dallas location at 3500 Oak Lawn Ave. as "Turtle Creek," although its location at Oak Lawn and Lemmon really puts it at the epicenter of Oak Lawn. (To further complicate matters, the building previously and incorrectly described its address as "Uptown.")

It's a seven-story building in which the majority of tenants are doctor and medical offices.

Office Evolution rates include a coworking day pass for $25, plus "flex" office options starting at $200 a month for 20 hours, up to $550 a month for 80 hours.

Amenities of the building that are also accessible to Office Evolution customers include a front desk; a 1,000-square-foot fitness center; covered parking; and on-site security six days a week.

According to a spokesperson, Pickering and his team put $1.2 million into the renovation to transform the space, which occupies most of the fourth floor where it will span 9,240 square feet of space with 41 total offices — one of which is earmarked as an "on-demand office" for the professional on the go.

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