Vanished?

Or been removed?

On 27 September, they finally got a good look at the site, but the features that could have been the remains of the MPL [Mars Polar Lander] had vanished. “We conclude that our interpretation of these features was in error,” Malin researchers wrote on their web site. “This is NOT the location of the Mars Polar Lander.”

Or is it? Maybe they need to look...underground.

What was thought to be the lander’s parachute is actually the sunlit slope of a hill [Ed-of course it is, no Martians here]. The candidate rocket blast zone has faded and the spot that was thought to be the lander itself has completely disappeared.

Just...disappeared. Mmm.