Extraterrestrial Life: Life on Mars - Then and Now
Abstract
The recent claim to have identified possible signs of ancient life on Mars has been widely publicized and discussed. The authors conceded that none of the half-dozen pieces of evidence adduced in their paper individually provided strong support for extraterrestrial life, though they argued that the pieces added up to a case worth considering. Most - perhaps all - of the observed phenomena have counterparts in the inorganic world, so even the combination does not make a compelling case that there was ever life on Mars. Nevertheless, the importance of the problem has justified bringing the results to general attention. The paper has focussed interest on the origin and possible ubiquity of life, and on how we can design techniques capable of giving a more definitive answer to the question of whether there is, or has ever been, life elsewhere in the Universe.
- Publication:
-
Current Biology
- Pub Date:
- January 1996
- DOI:
- 10.1016/S0960-9822(96)00698-7
- Bibcode:
- 1996CBio....6.1213A
- Keywords:
-
- Extraterrestrial Life;
- Mars (Planet);
- Universe;
- Life Sciences;
- Life Detectors;
- Lunar and Planetary Exploration