Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Life on Mars is Possible Researchers Say

Is life on mars possible? Researchers have discovered methane-eating bacteria in a spring in Canada's extreme North. Located on Axel Heiberg island the spring is called the Lost Hammer spring and could be very similar to springs that have existed on Mars. Photos taken by the Mars Orbiter have shown new gullies being formed on Mars. The only thing is that nobody knows what the hell is doing it. Some scientists speculate that the answer is in springs like the Lost Hammer spring which could possibly exist on Mars.

The bacteria that exists in this spring is thought to eat methane and maybe breathe sulfate instead of oxygen. The spring lacks any consumable amounts of oxygen so the bacteria wouldn't be able to breathe it anyway. Worth noting is the fact that the scientist only speculate that they breathe sulfate. No evidence has proven it as of yet.  Also, the water in this spring is extremely cold and its so salty that it never freezes. The only thing that catches the eye is the bubbles of methane that rise to the surface. Big bubbles of methane I might add.

Is life on Mars possible?Recent discoveries have proven that Methane and frozen water exist on Mars. Some areas on Mars reach temperatures of -10 to 0 degrees. Some temperatures even can reach above 0 degrees Celsius. When you compare it to that of the temperatures that surround the Lost Hammer spring of -50 degrees or more; then you can understand that life on Mars is essentially more likely. The Lost Hammer spring is one of the most extreme and inhospitable environments ever found. This is a very similar discovery to the speculation that there are aliens on Titan, one of Saturn's moons.

Adapted from materials provided by eurekalert.org

 So do you think this new research supports the notion that life on Mars is possible? 

Related Post:
Possible Life on Saturn's Moon Titan Found