Only a few days ago, NASA's Curiosity rover took several sequential images of a slow-moving large cylindrical object across the Martian sky towards the horizon. It traveled in a relatively straight path, did not appear to tumble like a large rock would, and the images were not time-lapsed images of a small object moving quickly.

Here is a link to the article: http://www.examiner.com/article/huge-cylindrical-ufo-captured-by-mars-curiosity-rover

The small images are still posted on NASA's site, but the links to the full resolution images still only show the small images. However, the full resolution image right before the cylinder appears is available. Watching a Youtube video of the images in rapid sequence, it appears that there is a small object that either broke off or somehow came from that cylindrical object. What do you people think about this?

Only a few days ago, NASA's Curiosity rover took several sequential images of a slow-moving large cylindrical object across the Martian sky towards the horizon. It traveled in a relatively straight path, did not appear to tumble like a large rock would, and the images were not time-lapsed images of a small object moving quickly.

Here is a link to the article: http://www.examiner.com/article/huge-cylindrical-ufo-captured-by-mars-curiosity-rover

The small images are still posted on NASA's site, but the links to the full resolution images still only show the small images. However, the full resolution image right before the cylinder appears is available. Watching a Youtube video of the images in rapid sequence, it appears that there is a small object that either broke off or somehow came from that cylindrical object. What do you people think about this?

I think this is one of those "watch this space" cliffhangers. Thank you convergence. Most intriguing :)

Let us assume for the moment that cylinder is an alien craft or unmanned alien probe. It seems to me that it wasn't concerned at all about being seen, if it was even aware of the rover. I mean, it took around ten minutes to pass through the field of view of that camera (assuming the time stamps are correct).

It seems to me that in general, if many sightings here on Earth really are alien space craft, they have no intentions of making any formal contact that we know of. They also don't seem to have the need to hide themselves from us. Are we just unintelligent objects of scientific curiosity to them? Or, are we to them like ants are to us? Are they here (in the solar system) just for the planets and wildlife and we have no meaning to them? It could also be they are just all unmanned probes of some kind and are incapable of making contact, and lack the programming to hide themselves very well.

If NASA was worried about people freaking out over the full resolution images, why would they release any images at all? I would have thought if they wanted to suppress everything about UFOs, ETs, etc., they wouldn't release the small images or any hints at all about it. That should have been especially true in this case since there are far less man-made objects on and around Mars and because of how obvious it is that this object is not an uncontrolled rocky object.

One possibility I thought of is that the time stamps are wrong and it is a small rocky object heading quickly for the surface, and the small thing coming from it is a smaller chunk of rock that broke off on the way to the surface.

If they are more intelligent than we are and far more technologically advanced, we shouldn't be seeing them at all if they really want to be hidden. I don't doubt there are advanced methods of camouflage they could employ to completely mask their presence from our technology and eyes. But, as you said, in some cases if we directly approach them, they'll depart. That's telling me that they don't care we can see them, but they don't want any incident or contact with us.

The biggest exception is probably the Battle of Los Angeles, if they were actually alien crafts or probes.