Mars has become a common word in the news these days. NASA has launched two spacecraft to the red planet. One contains the Rover which will be remotely driven over the Martian surface, an exciting first for astronomers. Then there was the possible evidence of ancient life found in a meteorite from Mars. That certainly excited the public, speculations on Martians has been a part of the imagination for decades. But there was some debate as to the definitivness of the discovery. It was finally concluded that though the evidence was very strong, it was not a "smoking gun." Now, not only has the gun been found, it is smoking and still hot!

 
    There are a number of meteorites found here on Earth that have come from Mars. One of the larger ones is known as EETA79001 which was found in Antarctica by British scientists in 1979. The meteorite is only 180 million years old, much younger than the first meteorite to show evidence for Martian life, which was 1.8 to 3.6 billion years old.

      This meteorite is a chunk of volcanic basalt which was blasted skyward from the Martian surface about 500,000 years ago by an impact. It then wandered through space until finding its way to the Earth's surface.

      This Martian meteorite was chosen for study both because of its young age, but mainly because it contained a high level of carbonates. The scientists baked bits of the meteorite to temperatures around 300° to 700° C.  When the embedded organic  compounds burned they released carbon dioxide. . Carbon is one of the fundamental building blocks of life. The British scientists say that methane producing organisms produced the carbon. This is the opposite of some microbes here on Earth that produce methane as a waste product. The scientists say that this is the smoking gun that astronomers have been hoping for.

      If this evidence is widely accepted, and so far there has been no contention, the evidence will have major implications. The meteorite is from a different area of Mars, probably from a different hemisphere altogether. This implies that life was spread all over the planet.

      Also, in geologic terms, 180 million years is "yesterday'" This could conceivably mean that we could go to Mars and still find some forms of life. It is believed that there are still places with water and hot spots underground that would allow such life to exist. Mars atmosphere is very different today from what it was a few billion years ago. It was believed that under different circumstances life could have existed on Mars. This latest discovery has shown strong evidence that life could still exist on the red planet.

      We may find some exciting facts when Mars Pathfinder and Global surveyor reach Mars. While we don't expect life forms to "walk up and say hi!" we may indeed find some evidence for the true Martians. Pathfinder will land in July and dispatch the rover, named Sojourner to study the composition of rocks. Mars Global Surveyor will orbit the planet and study its topography and weather.