Fossils in Martian meteorite?

[Whatsinausername]

The title should read "It's highly unlikely a Mars meteorite may contain evidence of life"

[scowl]

If it were merely a matter of the shape of the structures (morphology) the case would be considerably weaker. We also have the carbon, not from carbonates, enrichment of those specific structures, relative to the rest of the meteorite, suggesting that they were once alive, or in contact with living things.

I wouldn't bet that life put the carbon there, not in a four billion year old rock from a planet we don't know much about which traveled across the solar system and spent an unknown amount of time on Earth. There could be other processes responsible. I haven't seen anything that says the carbon could have only been the result of biological enrichment.

But if it would help fund further exploration of Mars then I would say yes, there is absolutely no doubt that life alone is the only explanation for that carbon!

[DONTEATUS]

Lets Keep Looking !

[+susieice]

Still reminds me of Deception Point.

[Sundew]

I wouldn't bet that life put the carbon there, not in a four billion year old rock from a planet we don't know much about which traveled across the solar system and spent an unknown amount of time on Earth. There could be other processes responsible. I haven't seen anything that says the carbon could have only been the result of biological enrichment.

But if it would help fund further exploration of Mars then I would say yes, there is absolutely no doubt that life alone is the only explanation for that carbon!

If one assumes that the building blocks of life (i.e. the chemical elements and their various compounds) are common outside of the earth, that still does not prove they are or were part of a living organism. Carbon, Iron, Sulphur, Calcium and other elements and their compounds could be found as the result of chemical and/or geological processes. This is not to say that life cannot exist outside of the Earth; neither science, nor even religion for that matter, preclude the existence of life outside our planet, however finding some of the elements common to life does not necessarily mean they were produced by life.

[qxcontinuum]

Good to see at least that someone from Nasa is optimistic about existence of past life on Mars. Even as only hypothetical rarely this is emerging from Nasa arm chair explorers.

[psyche101]

We need a robot to go there and pick up some stuff and fire it back to us. Wouldn't get much payload back, I don't think, it will take some gas getting off Mars

Getting of Mars would not be as hard as getting of Earth, it is about one sixth the size of earth and one third the gravity.

Edited August 20, 2014 by psyche101