R. Richard
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The following text is from a UK tabloid, The Sun. It's slanted toward the idea that there is indeed alien life, on the microbe level, on Mars. I have researched a bit through the NASA site and have found that, although NASA is not as positive as The Sun, NASA has stated that there are no active volcanoes on Mars. A volcano is the only other known source for the amount of methane observed. We may have discovered life on Mars. Comment?
Alien Life On Mars?
Scientists were last night drawing up plans for an expedition to Mars in search of the alien life now thought to live under the planet’s surface.
Geology expert Professor Lisa Pratt said: “We are going to have to go where they live. We would have to drill down to bring up water or a sample of rock.”
The move came after America’s space agency NASA sensationally confirmed yesterday’s report in The Sun that microbes probably caused methane gas detected on the surface of Mars.
Professor Michael Mumma told millions of viewers who tuned into a live press conference: “We are entering a new era.
“The discoveries indicate that we are now looking at an active Mars.”
He said it was “substantially probable that life was there or still survives”. Prof Mumma added: “There is a lot to think about. It might not be life as we know it.”
Plumes
Huge plumes of methane — a gas which can indicate the presence of living organisms — were spotted on the Red Planet’s northern side using powerful Earth-based telescopes and space probes.
The discovery is the closest the world has yet come to final proof that extra-terrestrial life exists.
The methane could come from live organisms or from the decomposing remains of long-dead ones.
Similar life forms have been found beneath permafrost on Earth.
Prof Pratt, of Indiana University and a member of NASA’s panel of Mars experts, said that if it is existing life, it will most likely be found several feet below the surface in pools of salty water. She said: “This is very exciting indeed.
“We have evidence that means we need to think in terms of the possibility of life on Mars. The methane could be exhaled breath of a living organism.”
She also believes the methane could be FOOD for the microbes.
Prof Pratt said: “It’s important that we re-evaluate our exploration strategy. We have to accept the fact that we should now search for ancient life, or that below the permafrost there are active organisms. If this methane is produced by a biological source, there are a range of possible habitats for the microbes.
“The fractures and voids in the earth beneath the permafrost could be filled with saltwater. They could be there. It is such an exciting prospect we are talking about today.
“We have to consider the possibility of life. It is prudent we start to look for a life form to explain it.”
She added that the only way of confirming the presence of alien micro organisms would be take a sample of rock or water from Mars.
Prof Pratt said: “We’d need to dig down several metres. Unfortunately it is not going to happen soon.” Another expert at the conference, Professor Sushil Atreya, of the University of Michigan, said: “Just to be sure, we’re talking about life.”
Prof Mumma, heading NASA’s search for life on Mars, said the data on the methane was collected six years ago. The experts admit the gas could also come from volcanoes on Mars, due to water reacting with hot rock.
But 90 per cent of methane on Earth is from a biological source. And Prof Mumma said some gases found could NOT have come from volcanoes. He said: “We do not see certain gases if they were produced by volcanic activity, such as sulphur dioxide.”
Whatever the source, scientists agree that something is replenishing the methane. It cannot survive indefinitely in the atmosphere. Sunlight breaks it down and strong oxidising chemicals in Martian dust would speed up the process.
Concentrations of methane on Mars were found to vary greatly by location and season. The primary plume they found was measured using a process called spectroscopy to contain about 19,000 metric tons of methane.
More secrets of the Red Planet may not be unveiled until 2011, when NASA plans detailed tests using a roving science laboratory on the surface.
British expert Professor Fred Taylor, of Oxford University, agrees with NASA. He said: “It’s likely to be coming from the interior of the planet. It’s quite hard to think of a non-biological source. We need to go there.”
Alien Life On Mars?
Scientists were last night drawing up plans for an expedition to Mars in search of the alien life now thought to live under the planet’s surface.
Geology expert Professor Lisa Pratt said: “We are going to have to go where they live. We would have to drill down to bring up water or a sample of rock.”
The move came after America’s space agency NASA sensationally confirmed yesterday’s report in The Sun that microbes probably caused methane gas detected on the surface of Mars.
Professor Michael Mumma told millions of viewers who tuned into a live press conference: “We are entering a new era.
“The discoveries indicate that we are now looking at an active Mars.”
He said it was “substantially probable that life was there or still survives”. Prof Mumma added: “There is a lot to think about. It might not be life as we know it.”
Plumes
Huge plumes of methane — a gas which can indicate the presence of living organisms — were spotted on the Red Planet’s northern side using powerful Earth-based telescopes and space probes.
The discovery is the closest the world has yet come to final proof that extra-terrestrial life exists.
The methane could come from live organisms or from the decomposing remains of long-dead ones.
Similar life forms have been found beneath permafrost on Earth.
Prof Pratt, of Indiana University and a member of NASA’s panel of Mars experts, said that if it is existing life, it will most likely be found several feet below the surface in pools of salty water. She said: “This is very exciting indeed.
“We have evidence that means we need to think in terms of the possibility of life on Mars. The methane could be exhaled breath of a living organism.”
She also believes the methane could be FOOD for the microbes.
Prof Pratt said: “It’s important that we re-evaluate our exploration strategy. We have to accept the fact that we should now search for ancient life, or that below the permafrost there are active organisms. If this methane is produced by a biological source, there are a range of possible habitats for the microbes.
“The fractures and voids in the earth beneath the permafrost could be filled with saltwater. They could be there. It is such an exciting prospect we are talking about today.
“We have to consider the possibility of life. It is prudent we start to look for a life form to explain it.”
She added that the only way of confirming the presence of alien micro organisms would be take a sample of rock or water from Mars.
Prof Pratt said: “We’d need to dig down several metres. Unfortunately it is not going to happen soon.” Another expert at the conference, Professor Sushil Atreya, of the University of Michigan, said: “Just to be sure, we’re talking about life.”
Prof Mumma, heading NASA’s search for life on Mars, said the data on the methane was collected six years ago. The experts admit the gas could also come from volcanoes on Mars, due to water reacting with hot rock.
But 90 per cent of methane on Earth is from a biological source. And Prof Mumma said some gases found could NOT have come from volcanoes. He said: “We do not see certain gases if they were produced by volcanic activity, such as sulphur dioxide.”
Whatever the source, scientists agree that something is replenishing the methane. It cannot survive indefinitely in the atmosphere. Sunlight breaks it down and strong oxidising chemicals in Martian dust would speed up the process.
Concentrations of methane on Mars were found to vary greatly by location and season. The primary plume they found was measured using a process called spectroscopy to contain about 19,000 metric tons of methane.
More secrets of the Red Planet may not be unveiled until 2011, when NASA plans detailed tests using a roving science laboratory on the surface.
British expert Professor Fred Taylor, of Oxford University, agrees with NASA. He said: “It’s likely to be coming from the interior of the planet. It’s quite hard to think of a non-biological source. We need to go there.”
