Since Ancient Man began tracking the unique red world across the night sky, we have always known there is something special about Mars. Although it is much smaller than Earth, Mars is the most Earth-like planet in our solar system with its many similar geological features, including polar ice caps and what appear to be ancient (but now dry) river beds. But is there life on Mars? Despite the controversy surrounding Mars meteorites that some scientists think contain fossils of ancient Martian bacteria-like life forms, there is no conclusive evidence that life currently or ever existed on Mars.
That, however, does not rule out the possibility that there was once life on Mars. Although there is no conclusive evidence, there are some tantalizing photos sent back from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and other probes that might raise some eyebrows.
This picture taken by the Mars rover shows two relatively thin objects that cast a definite shadow on the ground, making them look like they are suspended or floating.
The object on the left has been called “the spoon” because of the spoon-like shape on the end, and the other has been dubbed “the hoverboard” for its slight resemblance to the hoverboard featured in the Back to the Future films.
NASA, of course, has dismissed the objects in the image as nothing more than pareidolia—a trick of light and shadow. The agency says it is just a “weird rock”—a ventifact—a rock shaped over time by the wind. Weird, indeed.
Although it is unlikely that the objects are a spoon and hoverboard, they may warrant a closer look. But NASA is decidedly un-curious about such anomalies.
Martian Trees and Shrubs
This photo, taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) look quite like aerial photos of an Earth desert dotted with shrub growth. But these sand dunes are in the southern hemisphere of Mars. A Hungarian research team, which has been analyzing the photos (and other photos of the same area over time), has concluded that the black dots are indeed living organisms.
Mars Trees and Shrubs
“Each spring,” writes David Leonard in an article for Space.com, “[the Hungarians] report, ‘gray fuzzy spots’ appear in the bottom of the ice cover. By the middle of the first half of spring, these spots become darker, are bounded, and grow in size. By early summer defrosting, the naked dark soil of the dune is visible, and surrounded by a lighter ring. Year after year, the dark dune spots ‘renew’ on the same place with almost the same configuration, or ‘constellation’ of patches. This repeat action, the team asserts, strengthens their suggestion of fixed, biological causes of spot formation.”
The Hungarian scientists conclude that this strongly suggests the life cycle of some kind of plant life.
NASA and its associated research teams don’t agree with this conclusion. Their theory is that the dark spots are “the result of springtime defrosting process on Mars, not signs of biology.” A somewhat less dismissive opinion from Bruce Jakosky, a Mars researcher at the University of Colorado in Boulder, states that the conclusion for Martian biology is “premature… when other, simpler processes have not been ruled out.”
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