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The NASA-funded team found the first organic molecules thought to be of Martian origin; several mineral features characteristic of biological activity; and possible microscopic fossils of primitive, bacteria-like organisms inside of an ancient Martian rock that fell to Earth as a meteorite. This array of indirect evidence of past life will be reported in the Aug. 16 issue of the journal Science, presenting the investigation to the scientific community at large to reach a future consensus that will either confirm or deny the team's conclusion. Below are video and animation related to this discovery. |
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Cut 1: -- Between 3.6 billion and 4 billion years ago, a time when it is generally thought that the planet was warmer and wetter, water is believed to have penetrated fractures in the subsurface rock, possibly forming an underground water system. Since the water was saturated with carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere, carbonate minerals were deposited in the fractures. The team's findings indicate living organisms
also may have assisted in the formation of the carbonate, and some remains of the microscopic organisms may have become fossilized, in a fashion similar to the formation of fossils
in limestone on Earth. Then, 16 million years ago, a huge comet or asteroid struck Mars, ejecting a piece of the rock from its subsurface location with enough force to escape the
planet. For millions of years, the chunk of rock floated through space. It encountered Earth's atmosphere 13,000 years ago and fell in Antarctica as a meteorite.
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| THUMBNAIL | Cut 2: Scenes of meteorite ALH84001 in the JSC Meteorite Processing Laboratory. |
| THUMBNAIL | Cut 3: Planetary Scientists Dr. David McKay, Dr. Everett Gibson and Dr. Kathie Thomas-Keprta study slides of meteorite ALH84001 using a high-resolution scanning electronic microsope at JSC. |
| THUMBNAIL | Cut 4: High-resolution scanning elecron microscope images of possible microscopic ossils, pat of an array of indirect evidence found by NASA research, appearl to indicate promitive life may have existed on Mars more than 3.6 billion years ago. The fossils were found in an ancient meteorite, designated ALH04001, whih is believed to be of martian origin. |
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Curator: Annie Platoff Responsible NASA Official: Kelly Humphries Last Updated: 6 August 1996 |
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