Life on Mars?
There are many arguments that there is life on Mars but there are many arguements that totally disagree with this theory.
What is the evidence that disagrees with life on Mars? Well first of all when Mankind sent robotic spacecrafts to explore Mars, they did not find any artificial creations, such as a way of transporting water, etc. There is insufficient atmosphere which would be a problem for most lifeforms. The insufficient atmosphere is unable to protect martian lifeforms, if there are any, from outer space. If a human were to take off his spacesuit on Mars he would suffocate because there is not enough air for him to breathe. So far no robotic explorers have found any life, but the search is still ongoing.
What is the evidence that there is life on Mars? Although there is no direct proof of life on Mars there are methane signatures and other signs of possible biological activity on Mars. Things very similar to these were recently found in caves on Earth. So therefore some people think that life can possibly be found in caves of Mars and they are sustained by pockets of water. Scientists are desperate to find out what could be producing the methane. NASA is planning to launch a new rover in the year 2009 that could help answer many questions.
Some scientists also believe that martian life could exist underground. Based on the methane signatures they believe that it could be a sign of an active underground biosphere & nearby surface concentrations of sulfate jarosite. Sulfate jarosite is a mineral salt found on Earth in hot springs and other acidic bodies of water that have been able to support life despite their inhospitable environments.
Life couldn't exist without liquid water right? So where is all the liquid water on Mars. It is much to cold for there to be any liquid water so there is only ice but if the ice melted it would go directly to its gas form. Their are arguments that go both ways & even so, there are arguments for life underground. Many speculate that there must have been water in the past despite the frozen desert that Mars now. Scientists predict that there must have been giant floods but they wonder what caused these floods. There are no certain answers. How did the valleys of Mars form? Scientists on Earth say they look like rivers created them but for rivers to have created them the atmosphere of Mars had to be a lot thicker than it is now. Many puzzling questions remain unanswered.
There is no direct proof of Martian life but that does not mean life on Mars does not exist. Many scientists believe there is a possibility of life currently, other scientists believe that there is a possibility of life in the distant past, and some scientists do not believe that there ever was any life on Mars. The question "Is there life on Mars?" remains unanswered.