Mon, May 02, 2005
New Evidence Suggests Mars Is Alive
Until now, scientists have viewed
Mars as a lifeless rock, hopelessly dry with a terribly thin
atmosphere -- unable to support life as we know it. But that view
is changing now. Some scientists think Mars may be alive.
The life on Mars issue has recently undergone a paradigm shift,"
said Ian Wright, an astrobiologist at the Planetary and Space
Sciences Research Institute at the Open University in Britain, "to
the extent now that one can talk about the possibility of present
life on Mars without risking scientific suicide." Wright was quoted
by Wired News.
A lot of the excitement centers on the discovery of formaldehyde
in the Martian atmosphere -- a discovery made by Vittorio
Formisano, head of research at Italy's Institute of Physics and
Interplanetary Space.
Formaldehyde is formed during the breakdown of another organic
gas -- methane. While methane can linger in the atmosphere for
hundreds of years, formaldehyde lasts less than eight hours.
"There are three possible scenarios to explain the quantities:
chemistry at the surface, caused by solar radiation; chemistry deep
in the planet, caused by geothermal or hydrothermal activity; or
life," Formisano told Wired News.
Since there are no known geological formations on Mars that emit
methane, Formisano is very clear about his belief that these are
traces of life on the Red Planet.
"I believe there is extremely high probability that microbial
subsurface life exists on Mars," Formisano said. But he was quick
to point out that he can't prove anything... yet. "What will
certainly be needed in the future is a drill on a lander and direct
evidence of the existence of Archaea bacteria."
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