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Credit & Copyright: courtesy NASA
Explanation:
Today a team of NASA and Stanford scientists
announced the discovery of
strong circumstantial
evidence that microscopic life once existed on Mars.
Dr. David McKay, Dr. Everett Gibson, and
Kathie Thomas-Keprta of Lockheed-Martin,
all from (NASA
/JSC), and Dr. Richard Zare
(Stanford)
have led a team that has found chemical evidence for past life on Mars -
including what they interpret as possible
microscopic
fossil
remains
(tube-like structures pictured above) -
in a meteorite
thought to have originated on
Mars. A
small fraction of the many
meteorites that fall to Earth from space have
composition similar to the Martian surface. Many scientists believe that
these meteorites are indeed Martian rocks that have been catapulted into
space during a catastrophic event on Mars, such as an asteroid impact.
The escaped rocks would then circle the inner Solar System, some of them
falling to
Earth.
The meteorite containing the evidence landed on Earth 13,000
years ago, but may indicate a life-form that existed on Mars billions of
years ago. The team's findings will be published in the August 16 issue of
Science Magazine.
Even skeptical scientists look forward to future research confirming or
refuting these exciting claims.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day