[meteorite-list] Is there smelly life out there?

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:35:30 -0500
Message-ID: <dqlum4ttnd6adng0brhh5lhf8cpdhbn7m5_at_4ax.com>

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24917099-401,00.html

Methane discovery suggests presence of life on Mars, say Nasa scientists

NASA scientists are expected to announce they may have proof there is life on
Mars.

The scientists suspect alien microbes are alive and kicking just below the soil
of the big planet, after large quantities of what is believed to be the
organisms? waste products were detected.

The organisms ? called methanogens ? are suspected to have been living in water
beneath underground ice, where they are disgorging tonnes and tonnes of methane.

On Earth, methane is produced in massive quantities by animals such as cows,
sheep and goats.

Giant telescopes from Earth and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have spotted
a haze of the gas surrounding Mars, and according to some scientists this can
only point to the presence of life on Mars.

?Methane is a product of biology,? UK Mars expert Professor Colin Pillinger told
UK tabloid The Sun last night.

?For methane to be in Mars? atmosphere, there has to be a replenishable source.

?The most obvious source of methane is organisms, so if you find methane in an
atmosphere, you can suspect there is life.

?It?s not proof, but it makes it worth a much closer look.?

?What could be more profound than to know it?s not just us out there?

"We?ve really only scratched the surface ? it?s an absolute certainty that there
is life out there and we are not alone.

?If there is life on Mars then the logical conclusion is that there must be life
elsewhere too."

Although there is a consensus among some scientists that methane is also
produced by volcanic processes, the lack of any active volcanoes on Mars rules
this possibility out.

Methane plumes are very short-lived, it is chemically broken down by sunlight
within a year. Something is replacing the methane, and quickly.

The fascination with the idea that Mars harbours life has pervaded popular
culture for over a century.

The public obsession with Martians began way back in 1877 when astronomer
Giovanni Sciaparelli reported observations of large canali ? meaning "channels"
? on Mars, which he speculated must have been dug by an intelligent race,
although this proved mistaken.

H.G. Wells classic 1898 novel of a Martian invasion of Earth War of the Worlds
has been turned into two big budget Hollywood films and when staged as 1938
radio play by Orson Wells caused reportedly caused panic when some of the
audience mistook it for a real newscast.

Director Tim Burton reimagined the scenario with playfully malignant
extraterrestrials in his blackly comic 1996 film Mars Attacks.
Received on Thu 15 Jan 2009 10:35:30 AM PST