This one question has perplexed even the most intellectual minds for years.
We’ve all seen movies like Star Wars, Avatar, and Star Trek which feature extraordinary extraterrestrials living on faraway planets. Whether they have out-of-this-world atypical abilities or want to destroy Earth, these fictional creatures amaze us with their unique behaviors and abilities. But what if some type of life really does exist outside of Earth’s atmosphere and not just on a movie screen?
This question truly began to undergo further investigation when NASA was first established in 1958 to conduct and coordinate aeronautical and space activities for the U.S. For many years, NASA has focused on the exploration of other planets for signs of life, and, for decades, this topic has been the source of numerous debates, a grand majority of them pertaining to life on Mars.
- Comparison of rock outcrops on Mars (left), taken by Curiosity, to similar rocks on Earth (right). This photo is licensed under Wikimedia Commons.
In order to quell these debates once and for all, NASA sent out Vikings I and II in 1976 to the surface of Mars. Their mission? To determine if life exists on Mars. However, after these spacecrafts returned having carried out their experiments, the results were disappointing. They showed a lack of organic compounds in the upper centimeters of Mars’s surface. They also reported extreme temperatures, ranging from 120˚F during the day to 0˚F at night, conditions that aren’t suited to foster life. These findings diminished debates surrounding this issue for the two decades that followed.
However, when a 4.5 billion-year-old meteor from Mars landed in Antarctica in 1996, buzz about life on Mars started up once again. This meteor contained ancient bacteria, suggesting the existence of some form of primitive life on Mars.
After fifteen years of investigating our solar system, NASA has persisted on the importance of exploring Mars. On August 6th, 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory, nicknamed Curiosity, landed on The Red Planet. It made history for the completion of this 345-million mile journey and for being the most sophisticated roving laboratory to ever land on another planet. But this incredible feat isn’t even the most impressive part, for the discoveries that were made made through this journey are, simply put, revolutionary. Curiosity has taken samples of soil, analyzed, and sent them back to Earth for scientists to study. It has also reported mineral and chemical analyses that reveal past environmental conditions and check for ingredients that are considered necessities of life.
Most recently, Curiosity discovered the first evidence of water on Mars – a whole river of it, actually! It found a rock which scientists believe originated from the floor of an ancient stream, once between ankle- or knee-deep. Images show stones cemented into the rock, too large to have been moved by wind. “The consensus of the science team is that these are water-transported gravel in a vigorous stream,” stated Curiosity scientist, Rebecca Williams, with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona. It is very plausible that this flowing water could have housed ancient microorganisms.
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For the time being, it is up to you to state your opinions and continue these debates. Comment below with your thoughts.