In 1976, NASA launched the Viking 1 and Viking 2 landers, which performed four distinct experiments to explore the Martian landscape for signs of life.
. Yet, the outcomes of these tests have confounded scientists for decades. Some, like the labeled release and pyrolytic release experiments, hinted at metabolic activities, while others, notably the gas exchange experiment, yielded negative results.Schulze-Makuch posits that the Viking landers, designed with an Earth-centric perspective, could have oversaturated the Martian samples with water.
Schulze-Makuch cites the Atacama Desert in Chile—home to extreme microbes that thrive in arid conditions—as a possible Earthly analog. These organisms flourish in hygroscopic rocks, which absorb minimal atmospheric moisture. Similar rocks are believed to exist on Mars, which led Schulze-Makuch to question whether the Viking landers might have annihilated any potential Martian microbes by drowning them in water.
On the other side of the debate, an astrobiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center, Chris McKay, argues that subsequent missions like NASA's Phoenix lander have provided alternate explanations. McKay cites the discovery of perchlorates—a class of chemicals also found on Earth—as sufficient evidence to dismiss any speculation about Martian life.This is not the first time experts have debated the possibility of Viking's experiments affecting Martian life.
While Schulze-Makuch's claim has been deemed provocative by many, it nonetheless brings to light the significant challenges and implications of searching for life on other planets.
Schulze-Makuch has suggested that we require a new Mars mission that focuses on detecting life to test various hypotheses. This mission should investigate possible habitats on Mars, particularly in the Southern Highlands, where life could exist in salt rocks near the surface. The biggest benefit of this mission is that we may be able to access these rocks without drilling, which would significantly reduce engineering complexity and cost. I am eagerly anticipating the start of this mission.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez’s minor league numbers don’t tell full story, analyst saysThe Martian's fist five games with the Yankees have been out of this world
Read more »
NASA Tech Pinpoints the Best Places To Plant TreesUsing remote sensing, researchers have developed a method to guide the state of Maryland’s tree-planting efforts. Nature has provided an effective tool for removing some climate-warming carbon from the atmosphere—trees. Through photosynthesis, trees pull carbon dioxide out of the air and can stor
Read more »
NASA: Earth's warming climate shrinks glaciers by 50 percenThe world’s glaciers are predicted to lose as much as 40 percent of their mass and contribute nine centimeters (3.5 inches) to sea level rise by 2100
Read more »
NASA scientists test new tool for tracking algal bloomsBy the time they were over, a series of massive algal blooms along the west coast of Florida in 2020 would be linked to some 2,000 tons of dead marine life around Tampa Bay. The human costs were stark, too, including a double-digit increase in asthma cases in Sarasota and Pinellas counties, and estimated losses of around $1 billion across economic sectors from tourism to fisheries.
Read more »
Video: NASA's latest MOXIE experiment offers hope for human exploration on MarsNASA’s Perseverance rover mission has successfully been making oxygen from Mars’ carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere in a series of tests using the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, better known as MOXIE. CNN’s Kristin Fisher has more.
Read more »
NASA’s mega moon rocket is ‘unaffordable,’ according to accountability reportSenior NASA officials say that the agency’s Space Launch System — the massive rocket designed to propel its ambitious Artemis program to establish a base on the moon — is “unaffordable,” according to a report Thursday from the US Government Accountability Office.
Read more »