For a very long time now some people have maintained that NASA is changing the colors in the images it releases. Some even maintain that they are airbrushing some and even not releasing some at all.

Let's take a look at a few images to see if we can spot any hanky-panky with the colors.

Here is an image of the lander that delivered Spirit to the Martian surface taken by Spirit.

Most people have seen this I'm sure. Now let's have a look at the same lander before it was packed for shipment.

There do seem to be a few differences. Let's compare them side-by-side.

I have marked the most glaring difference; remember these images are of the exact same piece of equipment. Now lets take the one on the left and see if we can make it a closer match to the one on the right using Microsoft Picture It! Publishing 2001.

Well the cables color is closer to the other image, but look at the rest of the image. A BLUE sky on Mars? The ground doesn't seem that strange now either. Hummm, that's strange, or is it? Let's look at a photo taken at a NASA press conference (image from AP), note the screen behind the NASA people.

It doesn't appear to be too different from the one I changed, does it? Below is the same image as released to the public two days later?

Could there be something to the rumor that NASA is not being exactly honest about some things? Surely a part of the U.S. government wouldn't lie to the world, now would it?

Images from NASA unless noted other wise.