Post by Sharon Faulkner on Sept 24, 2007 23:10:15 GMT -5
Do The Caves On Mars Harbor Alien Life?
Frank Warren
September 24, 2007
A research paper presented in early March at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas, an annual get-together of experts in fields ranging from moon exploration to asteroid detection and astrobiology ignited debate about the prospect of “life” either “having existed,” or maybe even being “present now” in what are thought to be caves on a volcano named Arsia Mons near Mars' tallest mountain.
These “cave skylights,” as they have been dubbed, were discovered in images from NASA's “Mars Odyssey” spacecraft. The authors of the paper— Glen Cushing, Timothy Titus and J. Judson Wynne of the U.S. Geological Survey, in addition to Phil Christensen of Arizona State University argue, “These holes, the size of football fields may be the entrances to subterranean caverns. If the claims prove to be true, such caves would be prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life and prime real estate for future human settlements.”
Obviously, shelter from the harsh environment of Mars, as well as “heat” from volcanic activity, in regards to “liquid water” would dramatically increase the prospects for life to exist and prosper.
www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=38337
Frank Warren
September 24, 2007
A research paper presented in early March at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas, an annual get-together of experts in fields ranging from moon exploration to asteroid detection and astrobiology ignited debate about the prospect of “life” either “having existed,” or maybe even being “present now” in what are thought to be caves on a volcano named Arsia Mons near Mars' tallest mountain.
These “cave skylights,” as they have been dubbed, were discovered in images from NASA's “Mars Odyssey” spacecraft. The authors of the paper— Glen Cushing, Timothy Titus and J. Judson Wynne of the U.S. Geological Survey, in addition to Phil Christensen of Arizona State University argue, “These holes, the size of football fields may be the entrances to subterranean caverns. If the claims prove to be true, such caves would be prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life and prime real estate for future human settlements.”
Obviously, shelter from the harsh environment of Mars, as well as “heat” from volcanic activity, in regards to “liquid water” would dramatically increase the prospects for life to exist and prosper.
www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=38337