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NASA’s Curiosity rover made a fascinating scientific discovery when it detected background
levels of methane in the atmosphere of Mars, which seem to follow a distinct pattern. Although
the discovery of Methane on Mars is nothing new as records dating back to 2003 show this,
measurements were all over the place at the time and Curiosity’s discovery was the first
one to show that methane in the Martian air seems to follow a pattern: it has a seasonal
cycle, and it’s not just random. But what is the significance of this discovery you
may ask? Well, methane is a signature of biological activity on Earth so by finding it on Mars
could suggest that the red planet could have once supported ancient life or that it could
be produced by subsurface microbes...
NASA’s veteran rover, Curiosity made another fantastic scientific discovery when it found
complex organic matter in a dried-up lakebed on Mars. The material was found after the
rover drilled into the surface of a 3.5 billion-year-old mudstone at the bottom of the Gale crater.
However, how the organic matter formed is left open to discussion but what researchers
can say is that the organic matter can be one of several things: a record detailing
ancient life, a food source for life or something that exists in the place of life. Jennifer
Eigenbrode, a biogeochemist at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, revealed how the discovery
of organics in rocks has raised hopes of finding richer deposits of the compound deeper down.
She explained how if we were able to find things like fatty acids, that would be the
first potential hints of life.
In 2015, NASA declared that: “Under some circumstances liquid water has been found
on Mars.” Claims of water being present on Mars have already been made before but
what differentiates the discovery of liquid water in 2015 as opposed to previous findings
is the fact that liquid water (not ice – found in previous findings) has been found on the
Martian surface rather than miles underground where it would be difficult to verify its
presence. As we know, all life on Earth requires liquid water to survive so by finding it on
Mars’s surface could mean a supply of safe drinking water for future Mars colonists (once
you’ve separated the perchlorates and silicates in the Mars soil which is difficult but possible)
and the possibility of life on Mars…
Just last month, researchers working for NASA found evidence of an existing body of liquid
water on Mars. What has been classed as a “lake” sits under the planet's south polar
ice cap and is about 20km (12 miles) across. The discovery was made using Marsis, a radar
instrument on board the European Space Agency's (Esa) Mars Express orbiter. Although the instrument
wasn’t able to determine how thick the layer of water is, researchers estimate that it
is a minimum of one metre. As we found out in 2015, NASA declared that: “Under some
circumstances liquid water has been found on Mars.” Notice how they said: “Under
some circumstances…” The discovery of this liquid water lake on Mars means that
scientists can now eliminate uncertainty and previous ambiguous findings of liquid water.
Now comes the question everyone is probably here for… Are there aliens on Mars? Or is
there life on Mars in general…? Well, these questions are a bit difficult to answer as
there has not been any definitive proof as of yet to any aliens living on Mars, however,
this doesn’t stop the possibility of life being present on Mars due to the findings
of liquid water on the surface of the red planet, methane and organic matter found in
a 3.5-billion-year-old mudstone. But, this doesn’t stop conspiracy theorists drawing
up their own conspiracy theories of possible alien sightings on Mars. One conspiracy theory
involves peculiar images of a rock formation oddly resembling the shape of a skull. The
person who came across these findings, online UFO hunter and self-appointed space journalist
Joe White, also claimed to have stumbled upon what seems to look like a giant mouse.
Whether or not you believe in these theories is another matter but I’ll just leave this
question here… Unless you were actually present on Mars, how can you be 100% certain?
Granted it could just be a simple case of Pareidolia, where your brain is tricked into
seeing shapes and patterns that do not exist or maybe NASA is withholding the truth about
the discovery of aliens on Mars.