| 2 June |
Since ages, human being has carried out explorations or expeditions to know whether life exists in some form or not in the other planets or galaxies. “Life on Mars” has been the hot topic of discussion/fascination among the scientists all over the world. Recently scientists have discovered evidences of water gushing swiftly on Mars, thereby boosting the chances that this planet might still be containing life. The combination of low temperatures and thin atmosphere makes it probable for life to be present on Mars. Researchers have found out that ancient lakes once scattered the Martian landscape, and vast quantities of water ice were locked up in permafrost at the frigid poles of this planet. Mars has seasons quite similar to that of Earth and it has been found out that the seasons on Mars are affected by the distance from the sun. The evidence of life on Mars has been further justified by the fact that many bacteria’s have been found to thrive in the atmosphere of Mars. Gillevinia straata is a micro-organism known to exist on Mars, according to the data collected by two Mars Viking landers who searched for signatures of life, but the analytical results were, officially, inconclusive. According to the theory, predicted by Mario Crocco, a neurobiologist, Gillevinia straata cannot be considered as a micro-organism but as a member of the kingdom “Jakobia” in the biosphere. So, the possibility of existence of life on Mars was ruled out! The deposition of meteorites on the surface of Mars has also been considered as the proof of existence of life on earth. NASA maintains a record of 57 Mars meteorites and studies have shown that at least three of them exhibit the evidence of the possible existence of life on Mars. Although, nothing specific can still be said about these findings/researches. NASA is planning to launch the Astrobiology Field Laboratory in 2016, to help answer questions about life on Mars. The Pathfinder mission that touched down Aes Vallis region of Mars in July 1997 took numerous pictures of the landing area and collected various rock samples. The pictures that depicted various regions (also known as Superpan) were matched positive for chlorophyll signature. Moreover, two regions of the pictures even showed a chlorophyll signature found in the soil near Pathfinder. So, all these evidences indicate that life can be present on Mars. Although nothing specific can be said about life on Mars but researches are still being carried out in a hope to get some clue about the presence of life on Mars. Till then, we can certainly hope for the best!! |

