I’ll be hosting a FB Live tomorrow about new discoveries from the Curiosity Rover on Mars. No, we haven’t found life. But we’ve found some very interesting stuff. 😊— Michelle Thaller (@mlthaller) June 6, 2018
Here's where you can watch the live press briefing about Mars today at 2 pm Eastern US time:— Michelle Thaller (@mlthaller) June 7, 2018
FB Live: https://t.co/jGrvnpiseT
Twitch: https://t.co/clGSHWTMAD
Periscope: https://t.co/6Nk0WcvvSV
NASA TVhttps://t.co/D04RBEpGPW https://t.co/mxmFzRFdxu
Oh, these are #organics in my neighborhood... Methane swells each summer and ancient carbon-compounds locked in rocks. I haven't found life on Mars, but signs say…we’re on the right track. https://t.co/hqunXt76og pic.twitter.com/ownp0modD4— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) June 7, 2018
Ancient organic material & mysterious methane! @MarsCuriosity rover has found new evidence preserved in rocks suggesting the planet could’ve supported ancient life + new evidence in the atmosphere that relates to the search for current life on Mars: https://t.co/jVYUfbjWbl pic.twitter.com/ZHzBUbZJgU— NASA (@NASA) June 7, 2018
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/
:) "Who knows!" - indeed.
ReplyDeleteWe'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 )
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!
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