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British present new evidence of life on Mars
<Picture: tiny grain bearing chemical trace>
November 1, 1996
Web posted at: 6:45 p.m. EST=20
(CNN) -- There's new fuel for the debate over life on Mars.=20
British scientists Thursday said they found chemical traces in a =
meteorite that, they say, are consistent with the presence of life on =
the red planet. In August, NASA announced that it found evidence of =
former life on Mars in a 3.6 billion-year-old rock.=20
The Britons say they found organic matter in two meteorites -- one was =
the meteorite tested by NASA and the other, a newly tested meteorite =
that crashed to Earth 600,000 years ago. Scientists believe the rock =
itself is between 140 million and 160 million years old.=20
Researchers at London's Open University and London's Natural History =
Museum say they found residues and chemicals in the rock that could only =
be formed by living organisms.=20
<Picture: asteroid thrown free of mars>
"This is a smoking gun for life on Mars," said chemist Ian Wright, one =
of the trio of scientists in the new study. "I believe we will be in a =
position soon to study Martian metabolism."
"I believe I can say life existed -- and may still -- exist on Mars," =
Wright added.=20
Astronomer Colin Pillinger, one of the researchers, told a news briefing =
Thursday that he first presented chemical evidence from the meteorite =
(named 79001) in 1989 in the magazine Nature to suggest that life =
existed on Mars. But other scientists criticized his findings, saying =
the matter found in the meteorite could have been picked up on the =
meteorite's trip to Earth.
After the NASA scientists' announcement of their evidence from meteorite =
AHL 84001, Pillinger re-ran his experiment this month on several samples =
from both meteorites.
This time, he said, he carried out his experiments on parts of 79001 =
that had become sealed in a glass-like substance before the meteorite =
came to Earth, and thus was insulated from the Earth's organic matter.
The most important finding, Pillinger said, is that 79001 contains =
significant amounts of organic material -- up to 1,000 parts per million =
-- which has yet to be identified.=20
"It would be incredibly egotistical to believe we are the only planet =
with life on it," Pillinger said. "To think we are the only place =
uniquely selected for life would be incredible."=20
Some scientists are still skeptical that these trace elements found in =
Martian meteorites hold enough convincing proof to say that life has =
ever been present on Mars.=20
NASA is trying to find out more by launching two missions to the planet =
this year.=20