Obvious to some...oblivious to others

I was reading an article in the New York Times about the space shuttle when I came across a real shocker of a line that somehow went unnoticed by everybody. Right there in the middle of the article--wedged between a boring paragraph about "gap filler" and an odd paragraph about how the shuttle's robotic arm, while assisted by the boom, can scrach the shuttle's nose--was this little line:

"Engineers also want to look at a panel on the right wing where there appears to be a dark spot in the shape of a claw and another panel where there are two black scuff marks."

This was not written in panicking, or even mildly apprehensive, fashion but rather as if a claw mark and some other scuff marks on the wing of the shuttle was only slightly more important than getting the shuttle to scatch it's own nose. Come on, people, isn't it now obvious what has been messing up all of our shuttles?!? There's proof of it right there on the damn wing! Here's a hint:

And if that isn't a big enough clue, rent The Twilight Zone Movie (circa 1983) and pay special attention to the thing putting claw and scuff marks on the airplane's wing. Man, I thought astronauts and engineers were supposed to be smart.