Kevork Djanzesian is one of the best professional AP Wire photographers in the world. His work has appeared on hundreds of magazines and journals. Here is one of his pictures taken directly off the JPL control room monitor as it came in live from Mars. As you can see, the image shows an Earthly looking scene with blue sky and brownish soil and rocks (like Earth). Djanzesian said that within minutes of taking that first color Mars Pathfinder image, the JPL monitors suddenly were all showing a uniform orange-red Mars. Djanzesian said the JPL people offered him no explanation for the change so he released his original to the SF Gate News.

Coincidently, the Discovery Channel had a live from Mars program that same day. ABC Science Correspondent Bill Blakemore and host Steve Aveson commented on the first transmitted color image from Mars Pathfinder as the ABC cameras (also in the JPL monitor room) caught exactly what Djanzesian saw. In fact both Blakemore and Aveson commented "it looks like blue skies over Mars...just look at that beautiful blue sky" Then as the program cut away to a commerical break; upon return to the show, the Mars image which showed the blue sky was completely colored a uniform orange red. No explanation was offered and Blakemore and Aveson did not bring it up afterward. I believe Alex Blackwell has seen this same Discovery Channel footage. Perhaps he has a theory for how the first color image from Mars Pathfinder showed a blue sky and then turned completely to uniform orange red?

http://www.sfgate.com/science/photos/1997/marspix/july05/picture_01.shtml

Me....