The US and Russia will send spacecraft to Mars to test if life existed on the planet
By: Yarah Tal
Washington (special to "Haaretz"). A group of American scientists claims to have found in a meteorite from the planet Mars, which fell in Antarctica in 1984, certain organic compounds and minerals that indicate the possibility of the existence of primitive microscopic creatures on Mars, 3.6 billion years ago.
The meteorite is called "Allen Hills," 84001 and it was discovered by "meteor hunters".
Its size is a little bigger than a golf ball, and it weighs 1.9 kg. It broke away from Mars about 15 million years ago, after a large asteroid hit the planet, and reached Earth about 13 thousand years ago. It is one of the space agency's collection, which includes about a dozen meteorites, which probably originate from Mars. The origin of the meteorites was determined in 1993. Scientists compared their chemical composition with information on the composition of the surface on Mars, sent by the "Viking" spacecraft about 20 years ago, and determined that they originated from this planet. "There is no conclusive evidence for this origin," said Archie Reed from Boston University the other day, "but the chemistry, the mineralogy, the gases inside the meteorite, match the information that came from Mars."
A research group, led by scientists from the Johnson Space Center of NASA (the American space agency) in Houston, describes its findings in a comprehensive article that will be published next week in the journal "Science" in the USA; However, the main finding, regarding life on Mars, was leaked and published Tuesday afternoon at the top of the news broadcasts on US television networks. Great excitement gripped the scientific community in the country. NASA chiefs briefed the president, Bill Clinton, and his deputy, Al Gore, and the White House congratulated the researchers on their achievement. Some described the discovery as "the most important achievement of the world of science and technology, since man landed on the moon."
But there are also scientists who warn against drawing rash conclusions. In their opinion, more evidence is needed to establish the conclusion that there was life on Mars, even if primitive organisms.
All scientists agree on one thing - the chance that there is life on Mars today is zero, since the conditions prevailing there, and especially the intense cold, do not allow their existence. According to the new study, the existence of the tiny organisms on the planet, billions of years ago, was possible because it was then warmer and had more water on it. Daniel Goldin, one of the heads of NASA, defined the findings as pulsating,
And he added: "They do not point to small green people who lived on Mars, but to single-celled, extremely tiny creatures that resemble the shape of bacteria on Earth." He also said that one should not conclude from the findings the existence of higher life forms on Mars. In other meteorites from the NASA collection, which have been rigorously examined, no examples of those primitive bacteria-like organisms have been found.
Prof. Norman Horowitz, a biologist from Cal-Tech University, and formerly a member of the project to launch the "Voyager" spacecraft to Mars, said that the findings "are certainly interesting, if they are true." However, he pointed out that to be completely convinced of their truth, additional biological evidence is needed, which the meteorite doubtless is.
Simon Klamet, from Stanford University and the editors of the journal "Science", also said that the evidence is not conclusive. Jack Farmer, from NASA's Ames Research Center, said: "The exciting thing about this discovery is that within this rock there is evidence of liquid water and organic compounds, both of which are necessary for life to exist."
He added that it is possible that the water on Mars, which left a mineral imprint on the surface of the rock, was at the same temperature as the first life forms on Earth. Popular astrophysicist Carl Sagan, of Cornell University, said the findings could advance our knowledge of Mars, and also shed light on the development of life on Earth. The only way to verify the findings is to get to Mars, he said.
The US and Russia are indeed preparing, each separately, to launch unmanned research spacecraft to Mars. The Americans are planning a first launch in November this year, but the first mission of the spacecraft to be launched will not be to search for life on Mars. The last major US launch mission to Mars, in 1993, failed, when the satellite exploded as it approached Mars.
The American space agency, NASA, is formulating an ambitious plan, rich in funding, to explore the planet Mars. From November of this year, the agency wants to launch several spacecraft, which will land robots on Mars. The robots will take soil samples, which will be tested in NASA's research laboratories. In these tests, the scientists hope to determine in a more reliable way if there was life on the planet. NASA intends to cooperate in this matter with the Russian space agency, which also has a plan to launch spacecraft to Mars.
The heads of NASA met yesterday with the leadership of Congress and presented them with the research plan, with the intention of preventing a cut in the agency's budgets, as demanded by some members of the House of Representatives. The timing of the publication of the research findings, which revealed the possibility of life on Mars 3.6 billion years ago, was not accidental.
It is related to the agency's fight against the cut in its budget. The enormous media exposure of the findings is the result of the work of NASA's public relations personnel.
US President Bill Clinton yesterday supported NASA's effort, and in a conversation with reporters at the White House, he said that the findings of the new study indicate the need to increase the agency's budgets.
