jerrym
02-03-2016, 09:45 PM
Two Arizona State University professors argue that they have found evidence that life may have existed on Mars in the past.
After studying rare minerals here on Earth, Dr Steven Ruff and Dr Jack Farmer, from Arizona State University (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/starbucks-to-cover-full-cost-of-university-fees-for-employees-online-degrees-10159389.html), have suggested that unusual deposits on the Martian surface (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-mars-announcement-agency-likely-to-announce-how-red-planet-went-from-more-habitable-to-cold-and-a6722196.html) could have been created by microbes - a theory which, if true, could be one of the most significant in scientific history.
As Smithsonian (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mysterious-martian-cauliflower-may-be-latest-hint-alien-life-180957981/?no-ist) reports, the process began when Nasa's Spirit rover (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-capture-black-hole-eating-a-star-and-then-vomiting-it-back-out-a6751976.html) discovered unusual deposits of opaline silica inside the Red Planet's Gusev crater in 2009.
Examining these minerals more closely, scientists found that they were covered in tiny cauliflower-shaped protrusions, for which they were unable to find an explanation. ...
Examples of this strange mineral formation have also been found in the US's Yellowstone National Park (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/yellowstone-supervolcano-videos-show-animals-fleeing-but-we-have-nothing-to-worry-about-9238398.html) and the volcanic ground of the Taupo District in New Zealand (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/ancient-underwater-volcanic-range-may-explain-why-australia-and-new-zealand-separated-10386393.html). In both of these places, tiny fossils have been found which hold all the hallmarks of ancient microbial life. ...
The link is far from conclusive, and although the Martian environment can be compared to areas on Earth in some ways, the two are still very different. Even if something looks very similar to a biological formation, that doesn't mean it actually is.
The formations, although fascinating and significant, are unfortunately not conclusive pieces of evidence that life has existed on Mars.
However, as Ruff and Farmer suggested to a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in December, if we are going to search for evidence of Martian life, these formations could possibly be a good place to look.
Nasa's Curiosity rover (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/curiosity-mars-rover-sand-dunes-pictures-nasa-a6806626.html) is currently exploring Mars, but it won't be able to take a closer look at the minerals in the Gusev crater. However, the planned Mars 2020 rover (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nasa-aims-to-launch-mars-curiosity-rover-2-in-2020-8386244.html) has the crater as one of its potential landing sites, so there's a slim chance that we may know more about the cauliflower theory in the years to come.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/life-on-mars-discovery-scientists-mineral-rock-formations-a6850846.html
After studying rare minerals here on Earth, Dr Steven Ruff and Dr Jack Farmer, from Arizona State University (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/starbucks-to-cover-full-cost-of-university-fees-for-employees-online-degrees-10159389.html), have suggested that unusual deposits on the Martian surface (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-mars-announcement-agency-likely-to-announce-how-red-planet-went-from-more-habitable-to-cold-and-a6722196.html) could have been created by microbes - a theory which, if true, could be one of the most significant in scientific history.
As Smithsonian (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mysterious-martian-cauliflower-may-be-latest-hint-alien-life-180957981/?no-ist) reports, the process began when Nasa's Spirit rover (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-capture-black-hole-eating-a-star-and-then-vomiting-it-back-out-a6751976.html) discovered unusual deposits of opaline silica inside the Red Planet's Gusev crater in 2009.
Examining these minerals more closely, scientists found that they were covered in tiny cauliflower-shaped protrusions, for which they were unable to find an explanation. ...
Examples of this strange mineral formation have also been found in the US's Yellowstone National Park (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/yellowstone-supervolcano-videos-show-animals-fleeing-but-we-have-nothing-to-worry-about-9238398.html) and the volcanic ground of the Taupo District in New Zealand (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/ancient-underwater-volcanic-range-may-explain-why-australia-and-new-zealand-separated-10386393.html). In both of these places, tiny fossils have been found which hold all the hallmarks of ancient microbial life. ...
The link is far from conclusive, and although the Martian environment can be compared to areas on Earth in some ways, the two are still very different. Even if something looks very similar to a biological formation, that doesn't mean it actually is.
The formations, although fascinating and significant, are unfortunately not conclusive pieces of evidence that life has existed on Mars.
However, as Ruff and Farmer suggested to a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in December, if we are going to search for evidence of Martian life, these formations could possibly be a good place to look.
Nasa's Curiosity rover (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/curiosity-mars-rover-sand-dunes-pictures-nasa-a6806626.html) is currently exploring Mars, but it won't be able to take a closer look at the minerals in the Gusev crater. However, the planned Mars 2020 rover (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nasa-aims-to-launch-mars-curiosity-rover-2-in-2020-8386244.html) has the crater as one of its potential landing sites, so there's a slim chance that we may know more about the cauliflower theory in the years to come.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/life-on-mars-discovery-scientists-mineral-rock-formations-a6850846.html