[meteorite-list] New Life On Mars Evidence 'Conclusive'

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:48:11 2004
Message-ID: <200110101819.LAA16050_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_419740.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery

New life on Mars evidence 'conclusive'
Ananova
October 10, 2001

A new book reveals Nasa scientists have found 'conclusive' evidence life
once existed on Mars.

Experts at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston say three meteorites they
have analysed contain fossilised bacteria.

They think life may have originated there four billion years ago and then
arrived on Earth.

The findings are revealed in the new book Mars: Inside The Red Planet by Dr
Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest.

Some of the best new evidence comes from the Nakhla meteorite which landed
in Egypt in 1911.

'Microfossils' inside it are said to be better than similar controversial
findings in meteorite ALH 84001 revealed in 1996.

The book quotes Nasa's Dr Everett Gibson as saying: "We opened it in a clean
lab and inside it found samples of clays which are probably in the 600 to
700-million-year-old time frame.

"Within these carbonates and clays are structures and features that are even
larger and better preserved than those we saw in 84001."
Received on Wed 10 Oct 2001 02:19:05 PM PDT