Thursday, June 7, 2018

Life On Mars? Organic Molecules Found

NASA announced today that its Curiosity Rover disovered organic molecules while testing martial soil on Mars.  Catholic scientist and astronomer, Dr. Michelle Thaller made the announcement on Twitter and live on television. Methane was also discovered emanating from the surface.  This gas is known to come from life as we know it.








A similar announcement was made in 2014, see: http://www.sacerdotus.com/2014/12/methane-on-mars.html. This discovery is not a declaration of life on Mars, but may be an indication that life may have existed there or still does, but underneath the surface. The organic molecules may be remains of life that may have existed on Mars or may have been deposited by meteors from outer space which have crashed on Mars.  Scientists are still not sure. It probably will not be until humanity actually safely lands an astronaut there when we will be able to know for sure. 


Organic molecules are carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. They form what we call life on earth. I use the words "what we call" because there may be other forms of life that we are not aware of. It would be irrational to assume that any life elsewhere in the universe will be exactly built like life on earth is.  The methane on Mars is interesting because organisms produce it as a waste product; namely, flatulence. Whether there are aliens or bacteria underground passing gas or not, we are not sure yet. It may be the remains of life decomposing, who knows!



Source:

http://time.com/5305154/mars-organic-molecules/

https://www.space.com/40819-mars-methane-organics-curiosity-rover.html

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/07/617235884/nasas-curiosity-rover-finds-chemical-building-blocks-for-life-on-mars

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44405658

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-mars-methane-seasons-20180607-htmlstory.html

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/mars-organic-compounds-methane-curiosity-space-science/

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/06/finally-scientists-have-found-intriguing-organic-molecules-on-mars/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2171106-mars-has-complex-organic-material-that-may-be-from-ancient-life/

2 comments:

  1. :) "Who knows!" - indeed.

    We're living in a time when much of what was known, or assumed, about this universe a few generations back has been either modified - - - or replaced with new information.

    I like living 'now,' when we're uncovering a few answers to old 'what is this?' questions: and many questions we didn't have before. Some of the new questions are 'what is life' and 'how could life work.' (Shameless self-promotion follows: I've talked about terrestrial life and speculations - http://brendans-island.com/catholic-citizen/finding-new-worlds/#life )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are indeed. Nothing is set in stone in regards to science and scientific discoveries. Do not worry about promotion. As long as it is related to the content here, I do not mind!

      Delete

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