On February 18, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars, ready to embark on a mission to search for signs of ancient alien life. And as the rover descended to the Martian surface, its parachute deployed, revealing a striking red and white pattern that mystified space fans when NASA released the descent images.
“Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find for that purpose, so we invite you all to give it shot and show your work," said NASA’s Allen Chen, lead engineer for Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems, during a press conference.
It didn't take long for internet sleuths to decipher the hidden message, posting the answer online within hours.
It turned out, the parachute’s strange pattern was actually a binary code message that spelled the phrase “Dare Mighty Things” — the motto of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s motto — as well as listed the lab's GPS coordinates.
