Ancient life on Mars?! Most defintWe all knew it was only a matter of
time before evidence would come crashing down (not literally I dare hope) to
dissipate the non-believers’ notions that there cannot possibly be any other
life forms or habitable planets out in the vast universe beyond our planet’s exosphere (the outermost region of the atmosphere, where low-density gases
disperse into space). Well NASA,
with the help of the Curiosity Rover has brought to light some startling
evidence that shows that there is a definite chance that there was once running
water on Mars. Though their findings are, at the moment, inconclusive without
the hard evidence to analyze in the many state-of-the-art laboratories at their
disposal, pictures do indeed speak a thousand words.
Curiosity has recently sent back images of what appears to
be streambeds on Mars: reason being for this
conclusion is due to the size of the pebbles – they are too large to have been
carried by wind. Long since dried-up, there is evidence that water once ran
deep and vigorously through these channels. The M&M-sized pebbles are not
unlike those you’d find in a stream here on Earth – smooth and rounded
edges with sizes varying slightly along the length of the channel. This enlightening
discovery also tells us that the water flow occurred over a long period of
time, as time is needed to move the pebbles along the length of the channels to
round their edges.
What could this mean for us on Earth?! Endless
possibilities! Now that we are this close to finding out that life could
possibly be sustained on another planet, we could begin to speculate that, one
day, we could have an alternate planet to call home. Though immense studies and
explorations are yet to be launched to fully grasp the knowledge awaiting our
discovery on Mars, and possibly many other planets
in this vast universe we call home, in the near to distant future our efforts
will undoubtedly be rewarded.
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Too big to have been moved by wind, gravel fragments rest along outcrops
on Mars (left) and Earth (right).
Image courtesy
NASA
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Space has always fascinated me, but I worry about the emphasis we as a species are putting on space exploration. I definitely agree that we should continue to broaden our understanding of the cosmos, but I believe there are more important things to fuss over right here on our home planet.
ReplyDeleteIn the newspaper a couple of weeks ago, there were two articles on opposing sides of a single spread; one was significantly larger than the other. In the smaller article, I read about China's space program. Since becoming the third country to put a human into space in 2003, their space program has been under continuous development. They've recently launched a satellite into space designed to monitor Venezuela's natural resources, crops, and to assist with national security. In the larger, more prominent article, I read about Sarah Brightman's $35 million vacation on the space station. The Phantom of the Opera singer is slated to be the more famous celebrity to take advantage of space tourism. Without digressing too much about the politics in mass media, I have to ask, which is more significant; innovation or the tourism of the rich and famous?
The fact that China has made a move to assist another country is great, and aligns with my feelings that we should be approaching space exploration not as individual countries, but as a planetary nation.
If the reason for the energy and money spent on space exploration really is to find a secondary home planet however, why don't we use those resources to learn more about our own planet instead? Earth is an absolute oasis in our universe, whether there used to be water on Mars or not. There's water right here on Earth right now, and we've sent more people into space than we have to the bottom of the ocean. That makes no sense to me! There's still so much to learn about our own planet; from physical geology to environmental sustainability. We have an urgency to take care of the planet we live on, and so even though I'm a sci-fi fan and a dreamer, I still believe our focus should be on the science of home.
One of my most favourite images from space is one taken during NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn. After 7 years of flight through space, Cassini finally reached the ringed planet in 2004; traveling nearly 1.2 billion km! The most moving part of the image, I feel, is looking at the distant world of Saturn and noticing the pale blue dot hanging in the background. There's no place like home.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=7314