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Is there life on mars (Click to select text)
The question of Martian life is an age-old one. There are many theories on the history of Mars, and its inhabitants, or lack thereof. The history and origin of Mars is widely debated, mostly between evolutionists and creationists, though the debate is mainly focused on the origin of the Universe, and not Mars specifically. Nevertheless, since Mars is part of the Universe, its origin must have been included in the origin of the Universe (McGuire). Evolutionists hold the belief that the Universe was formed by various gases combining and creating a "big bang" which, in turn, formed the planets. Creationists argue that this is too random an event, and on to great a scale to form all the microscopic complexities of organisms, and the great expanses of the Universe. Creationists believe that God (or some form of deity) Created the Universe by divine power, and that the above mentioned complexities could only be achieved by a Supreme Being. The age of Mars has been reported to be between 3.6 billion and 1.3 billion years old, "depending on who you ask" (Erjavec, 1). These ages come from the estimated ages of meteorites found on Earth that are believed to have originated on Mars (Meteorites from Mars, 1). The meteorites were dated using radiometric dating methods (Erjavec, 1). The most widely accepted theory of life on Mars is that of the recently conceived primitive, or microscopic, life may have existed on early Mars. "A NASA research team at the Johnson Space Center and at Stanford University has found evidence that strongly suggests primitive life may have existed on Mars more than 3.6 billion years ago" (Release: 96-160, 1). Many meteorites have landed on earth, but only 12 are believed to have originated on Mars. These 12 were determined to be from Mars based on comparisons with the 1970's Viking mission's findings on the analysis of the Red Planet's rock and soil. "The conclusive evidence that the SNC meteorites originated on Mars comes from the measurement of gases trapped in one meteorite's interior. The trapped gases match those that Viking measured in the Martian atmosphere" (Meteorites from Mars, 1). The team from NASA found the first organic molecules thought to be of Martian origin; several mineral features characteristic of biological activity; and fossils of primitive, bacteria-like organisms inside of an ancient Martian rock that fell to Earth as a meteorite. There was not one finding that led the team to their conclusion, but rather a combination of things. The scientists found a unique pattern of organic molecules, carbon compounds that are the basis of life. The most compelling evidence supporting the findings was the location of the carbon compounds, plus unusual mineral phases that are products of primitive microscopic organisms on Earth, and the microscopic fossils that support all of this, were in very close proximity - within a few hundred thousands of an inch of one another (Release: 96-160). Another theory of ancient life on Mars is that a civilized race existed on Mars eons ago. The percentage of the populace that says this is quite small. Only about 3% of and estimated 14,000 visitors to a website believe that there was a civilized race on Mars. However, the basis for this belief is the Cydonia rock that is found on Mars. This rock is formed so that it appears to be a face. The sect that holds the civilized race theory is convinced that the rock was formed as a monument to an ancient Martian god or some sort of deity (Cydonia). The scientific community, dismisses this as merely a rock which had a photo taken of it at an awkward angle (Civilized?, 3). The possibility of future life on Mars is debatable. While unmanned missions have already started as many as 20 years ago with the Viking mission, and the recent Pathfinder mission, many more are in the works. Mars Climate Orbiter was recently released into space enroute to Mars. Its mission is to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars. Mars Polar Lander will settle near Mars's southern ice cap - thought to be frozen water and carbon dioxide - and take samples with a robotic arm. Two small probes will be dropped into the ground to search for water. No rover will be included. More missions with landers and more rovers are scheduled around every 26 months starting March 1999. We could see a round trip by 2005. A lander will head for a promising landing site from earlier missions. Its rover will collect the rocks and soil samples cached by an old rover. Samples will be brought back to Earth by 2008. The possibility of humans on Mars within our lifetime is very slim. (Newcott, 23). The cost of the equipment would be immense, and the effect of the journey on a human would be unknown (McGuire). In a fit of optimism, then President George Bush suggested that the U.S. should land humans on Mars by 2019, the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon. As the years pass, that possibility seems to dwindle. But just imagine the year 2008. The sample mission comes back with a rock that bears evidence of fossil remains. There may have been life on Mars. The only way to know for sure would be to go look. We still have eleven years based on the above deadline. We got to the moon in less than ten.
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