Continuing Controversy: Life on Mars

NASA’s “Spirit” rover may have discovered life on Mars.

Because it has a broken wheel, the rover disturbed a patch of ground on Mars which shows evidence of a climate there in the past that would have been perfect for microbes. But are they still there? On earth, areas that look like this were created when hot, steamy water came into contact with volcanic rocks and are teeming with bacteria.

In BBC News, Jonathan Amos quotes NASA researcher Steve Squyres as saying, “We’re really excited about this.”

If the earth becomes like Venus someday, we may have to move to Mars?or will be just be going home? A good sign is that scientists have found even more evidence that suggests that there is?or recently was? water flowing on Mars. They?ve done this by comparing Martian images returned by probes with images of a desert on Earth.

In recent years, scientists have examined images of several sites on Mars where water appears to have flowed to the surface and left behind a trail of sediment. Those sites closely resemble places where water flows today in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica.

The Dry Valleys are a polar desert in Antarctica with year-round saltwater flowing beneath the surface. With temperatures that dip as low as negative 85 degrees Fahrenheit, it?s as cold as the Martian equator, and its iron-rich soil gives it a similar red color. Researcher Berry Lyons says, “If you looked at pictures of both landscapes side by side, you couldn’t tell them apart.”

Art credit: gimp-savvy.com

Sometimes investigating ancient cultures reveals secrets we need to know now, but most scientists prefer a more direct method. Whatever happened to that stranded rover that the European Space Commission sent to Mars? Psychic investigator Maureen Caudill wanted to find out so she traveled out-of-body to Mars to visit the Beagle. Subscribers can learn all about it!

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