Is there life on mars
Is there life on marsThe 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...
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