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Question
Dear Jesse Martinez,
I'm doing an I-search in Language Arts. My topic is about Mars and I need to interview an expert. So, I have a question about life on Mars. I know it sounds science-fiction, but I am not asking about that. My question is as follows:
Is there any proof of life on Mars? Since the atmospheric condition is not possible for life in a non-bacterial size, have any bacterial size life forms found? Thank you for your time!
Hello Kat
In the movie "Contact" about scientists finding evidence of an intelligent civilization outside the solar system, a clip showing President Bill Clinton saying something to the effect of finding evidence of life beyond Earth was in fact a speech he made about the possible finding of evidence of life on Mars in the form of fossils in a meteorite believed to have originated on Mars. (The theory is that a larger object hit Mars a long time ago and sent pieces of Mars out into the solar system, some of which made it to the Earth's surface). The quote which is like the one in the movie is "This is the product of years of exploration and months of intensive study by some of the world's most distinguished scientists. Like all discoveries, this one will and should continue to be reviewed, examined and scrutinized". This was an actual speech made by the President about life on Mars.
There is definite thinking among scientists and myself that there may been life on Mars at some time in the past. The proof is in the above mentioned fossils. They were microscopic entities that may have evolved into more complex entities. Evidence of the more complex life has not yet been found.
I am convinced that there was once microscopic life on Mars on the basis of the meteorite study. There is modern day proof of the existence of water, oxygen and carbon dioxide on some parts of the planet. This is what is needed for life as we know it. Whether they still exist or ever existed in the same area is not known at this time.
Yes, there has been life on Mars, be it only microscopic, and yes there might be life on Mars today. That has yet to be proven.
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Answers by Expert:
Jesse Martinez
Expertise
General and specific questions about the solar system and stellar and galactic astronomy, are what I can easily answer off the top of my head. For example, what is the largest planet in the solar system? How far away is the moon? Have there been any confirmed planets in orbit around stars other than the sun? How many stars are there? The tougher ones like explaining the big bang theory and black holes I will leave to the PhD’s. Even though I could muster an answer, I would have to research it more than I would like. I would also like to answer questions that involve Astronomy with other sciences, chemistry, biology, physics, geology and mathematics as long as they are not PhD level.
Experience
I have been into astronomy since I was 8 years old. I have kept detailed journals of my observations through small telescopes. Over the years I have participated in amateur observation projects for organizations like ALPO. My personal research has involved "discovering" the moons of Jupiter with a 4½-inch Newtonian reflector without any outside information like charts and tables. In a summer long project, I determined the existence of and plotted the orbits of the four major moons of Jupiter. From these observations, my data on orbital elements was surprisingly accurate (orbital radius and orbital period).
Education/Credentials
80 hours of college credits while studying physics and geophysics. Completed correspondence photography course while in high school. Took two semesters of electronics training at a community college. Studied computers and graduated from a technical school at the turn of the millennium, gaining A+ and Microsoft Certified Professional credentials.
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