Ceres
Earth clearly hasn't been inspected, since it's definitely contaminated with salmonella.
Earth clearly hasn't been inspected, since it's definitely contaminated with salmonella.
Ceres is the largest known asteroid and the smallest known dwarf planet. Megan sits at her computer and tells Cueball how exciting it will be when Dawn discovers what the cause of the "stupid white dot" on Ceres is.
Dawn is a probe sent by NASA in 2007 to examine the asteroid belt. Having already visited the protoplanet Vesta in 2012, Dawn is now scheduled to arrive at Ceres on March 6, 2015. Dawn's initial images of Ceres were released two days before this comic, quickly inspiring questions about the white spot. The spot was first noticed in photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
"Inspected By No. 6" refers to a series of quality assurance stickers used by US clothing manufacturers. Individual inspectors, each assigned a number, randomly sample products for workmanship. Accepted items are marked with that inspector's sticker. The presumed joke is that the white spot is a large sticker indicating that Ceres has passed inspection. This might also reference The Rift's M6 being stationed at Ceres inspecting a crater.
However, this sticker could mean that there is life, probably a Type 3+ civilization. This would mean that there is life in this universe that has control over solar systems, potentially saying that there are Type 3, 4, and Type 5 civilizations out there since they can control solar systems.
The title text extends the joke to the planet Earth, where salmonella can be found. Salmonella are harmful bacteria sometimes found in food products subject to improper handling or overlong storage. Mixing the realms of astronomical objects and food once more, the title text concludes that the planet Earth hasn't been tested by CERES since salmonella can be found on it.
The Dawn mission is mentioned in 1532: New Horizons.