Thursday, 18 June 2020

Alien does survive

Lead humanity forward. <i>Two possibilities exist:</i> <i>Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe,</i> <i>Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe, or we are not.</i> <i>Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe, or we are not.Both are equally terrifying.</i> <i>Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe, or we are not.Both are equally terrifying.</i>Arthur C. Clarke <i>Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe, or we are not.Both are equally terrifying.</i>Arthur C. ClarkeIn all of time, In all of time, on all the planets of all the galaxies in space. what civilizations have risen, looked into the night, seen what we see, asked the questions that we ask? "Are we alone?" "Is Earth the only chapter in the story of life?" "The answers lie somewhere in distant space - and distant time." "For the first time, the truth is finally within our reach." "The search will reveal who we are" "and who we might become." LIFE LIFE BEYOND <b>CHAPTER I</b> <b>CHAPTER I</b>The Dawn "In the search for life out there, we must first look inward." What we see around us is staggering complexity. How is it possible? "What does it take to create life?" "What does it take to create life?"Living organisms are created by chemistry.


 Living organisms are created by chemistry. We are huge packages of chemicals. And what are the ideal conditions for chemistry? Well, first, you need energy. <b>I</b>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IE</b>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IEN</b>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IENE</b>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IENER</b>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IENERG</b>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IENERGY</b>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IENERGY</b><i>e.g </i>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IENERGY</b><i>e.g Sunlight,</i>Well, first, you need energy. <b>IENERGY</b><i>e.g Sunlight,</i> <b>IENERGY</b><i>e.g Sunlight, Geothermal Heat</i> <b>IENERG</b><i>e.g Sunlight, Geothermal Heat</i> <b>IENER</b><i>e.g Sunlight, Geothermal Heat</i> <b>IENE</b><i>e.g Sunlight, Geothermal Heat</i> <b>IEN</b><i>e.g Sunlight,</i> <b>IE</b><i>e.g</i> <b>IE</b> <b>I</b> But not too much.


 What you want is just the right amount and planets it turns out are just right, because they are close to stars, but not too close. You also need a great diversity <b>II</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHE</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEA</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAV</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY E</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY EL</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY ELE</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY ELEM</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY ELEME</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY ELEMEN</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY ELEMENT</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY ELEMENTS</b>You also need a great diversity <b>IIHEAVY ELEMENTS</b><i>e.g</i>of chemical elements. <b>IIHEAVY ELEMENTS</b><i>e.g Oxygen,</i>of chemical elements. <b>IIHEAVY ELEMENTS</b><i>e.g Oxygen, Carbon,</i>of chemical elements. <b>IIHEAVY ELEMENTS</b><i>e.g Oxygen, Carbon, Sulfur</i>of chemical elements. <b>IIHEAVY ELEMENTS</b><i>e.g Oxygen, Carbon, Sulfur</i> <b>IIHEAVY ELEMENT</b><i>e.g Oxygen, Carbon, Sulfur</i> <b>IIHEAVY ELEMEN</b><i>e.g Oxygen, Carbon, Sulfur</i> <b>IIHEAVY ELEME</b><i>e.g Oxygen, Carbon,</i> <b>IIHEAVY ELEM</b><i>e.g Oxygen, Carbon,</i> <b>IIHEAVY ELE</b><i>e.g Oxygen, Carbon,</i> <b>IIHEAVY EL</b><i>e.g Oxygen,</i> <b>IIHEAVY E</b><i>e.g</i> <b>IIHEAVY</b> <b>IIHEAV</b> <b>IIHEA</b> <b>IIHE</b> <b>IIH</b> <b>II</b> <b>I</b> And you need liquid, such as water. <b>III</b>such as water. <b>IIIL</b>such as water. <b>IIILI</b>such as water. <b>IIILIQ</b>such as water. 


<b>IIILIQU</b>such as water. <b>IIILIQUI</b>such as water. <b>IIILIQUID</b>such as water. <b>IIILIQUID</b>such as water. <b>IIILIQUID</b><i>e.g</i>such as water. <b>IIILIQUID</b><i>e.g Water</i>such as water. III<b>LIQUID</b>e.g. water Why? Well, in gases, atoms move past each other so fast that they can't hitch up. In solids, atoms are stuck together. They can't move. In liquids, they can cruise and cuddle and link up to form molecules. Liquid water is just so good for getting evolution going. Molecules can dissolve in the water to form more complex chains. Now, where do you find such goldilocks conditions? Well, planets are great, and our early Earth was almost perfect. Earth Earth4 Billion Years Ago It was just the right distance from its star to contain huge oceans of liquid water. And deep beneath those oceans, at cracks in the Earth's crust, fantastic chemistry began to happen atoms combined in all sorts of exotic combinations. "The exact recipe is still a mystery, but the ingredients for lifeare simple - energy, organic molecules, and liquid water." "Somewhere in the seas of early Earth, basic chemistry became biology - perhaps even more than once." "The first cells were likely born in hot volcanic waters,in conditions once thought impossible for biology." "The closer we study life, the more extreme places we find it thriving." "The closer we study life, the more extreme places we find it thriving."Here on our planet, Here on our planet, microbes have adapted to survive the most hostile conditions.


 Arid deserts, the frozen Himalayas, in trenches under thousands of tons of pressure in the ocean deeps. In the vacuum of a space simulator, life forms have been flourishing for years without oxygen. "New research suggests that life emerged over 4 billion years ago,when Earth was an alien and deadly place." "The planet was ravaged by intense volcanism and an asteroid storm that lasted 100 million years." "Yet even in these extreme conditions,life quickly found a foothold." "Yet even in these extreme conditions,life quickly found a foothold."Very very quickly, Very very quickly, as soon as the Earth cooled off after its formation, we know that life began here. Because it happened quickly here on Earth, we think it is going to happen quickly on other planets as well. "The story of Earth gives us hope that life could be universally common." "It teaches us that life is fast acting, tenacious, and made of basic, common ingredients." "After 4 billion years of isolation, the search for our cosmic kin has finally begun." "Where there is water, there is life - and so our best chanceis to look for ocean worlds like Earth."


 "Our search for Earth-like planets has only just begun,and the findings are tantalizing." <b>KEPLER-62F</b> <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years. <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years.Size: 1.4x Earth. <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years.Size: 1.4x Earth.Temperature: ≥ -85ºF. <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years.Size: 1.4x Earth.Temperature: ≥ -85ºF.Age: ~7 billion years. <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years.Size: 1.4x Earth.Temperature: ≥ -85ºF.Age: ~7 billion years.Possible Water World <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years.Size: 1.4x Earth.Temperature: ≥ -85ºF.Age: ~7 billion years. <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years.Size: 1.4x Earth.Temperature: ≥ -85ºF. <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years.Size: 1.4x Earth. <b>KEPLER-62F</b>Distance: 1200 Light Years. <b>KEPLER-62F</b> <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b> <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years. <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years.Size: 0.77x Earth. <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years.Size: 0.77x Earth.Age: ~7.5 billion years. <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years.Size: 0.77x Earth.Age: ~7.5 billion years.Temperature: ≥ 20ºF. <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years.Size: 0.77x Earth.Age: ~7.5 billion years.Temperature: ≥ 20ºF.Possible Water World <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years.Size: 0.77x Earth.Age: ~7.5 billion years.Temperature: ≥ 20ºF. <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years.Size: 0.77x Earth.Age: ~7.5 billion years. <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years.Size: 0.77x Earth. <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b>Distance: 41 Light Years. <b>TRAPPIST-1D</b> <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b> <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years. <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years.Size: 1.07x Earth. <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years.Size: 1.07x Earth.Age: 8 billion years. <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years.Size: 1.07x Earth.Age: 8 billion years.Minimum temperature: ≥ 20ºF. <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years.Size: 1.07x Earth.Age: 8 billion years.Minimum temperature: ≥ 20ºF.Possible Water World <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years.Size: 1.07x Earth.Age: 8 billion years.Minimum temperature: ≥ 20ºF. <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years.Size: 1.07x Earth.Age: 8 billion years. <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years.Size: 1.07x Earth. <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b>Distance: 12 Light Years. <b>TEEGARDEN-B</b> <b>K2-18B</b> <b>K2-18B</b>Distance: 111 Light Years. <b>K2-18B</b>Distance: 111 Light Years.Size: 2.7x Earth. <b>K2-18B</b>Distance: 111 Light Years.Size: 2.7x Earth.Temperature: -100 -116ºF. <b>K2-18B</b>Distance: 111 Light Years.Size: 2.7x Earth.Temperature: -100 -116ºF.Confirmed atmospheric water vapor <b>K2-18B</b>Distance: 111 Light Years.Size: 2.7x Earth.Temperature: -100 -116ºF. <b>K2-18B</b>Distance: 111 Light Years.Size: 2.7x Earth. <b>K2-18B</b>Distance: 111 Light Years. <b>K2-18B</b> 


"We have barely scratched the surface.Nature's trove of secrets is bottomless." "We have barely scratched the surface.Nature's trove of secrets is bottomless."We know that the galaxy is awash in water. We know that the galaxy is awash in water. It’s awash in organic molecules, and complex chemistry. All of the things that we know were necessary for life to begin on this planet exist on abundance throughout the galaxy. Did something similar to what happened on our own planet happen on those other planets? "Looking at the raw numbers, the existence of alien life seems almost inevitable." "The latest data suggest that up to 1/4 of stars have rocky planetsorbiting in their habitable zone - the right distance for liquid water." "In our Milk Way galaxy alone, that's ~50 billion worlds like Earth." "In the entire universe, the possible number of habitable planets is staggering:" "In the entire universe, the possible number of habitable planets is staggering:"100,000,000,000,000,000,000. "Imagine each flash of light represents an Earth-like planet."

 "You would have to watch this animation for over a billion years to view them all." "Each one with a history as rich and unique as Earth." "Trillions and trillions of chemical soups, stewing for eons." There are more habitable Earth-mass planets in the observable volume of the universe than there are grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. "Among this abundance of worlds,many will be deadly to life as we know it." "There will be planets in the habitable zone that arescorched, frozen, and suffocated by poison gases." "Many will lack an atmosphere, critical for temperature regulation,or have one that is deadly." "Venus, once thought to potentially support life,is now sterilized by a crushing, toxic atmosphere." "But life may not be confined to the habitable zone." "Far from the warmth of their star, the moonsof giant gas planets may be hidden oases for life." "Their energy comes not from starlight, but from gravity - the lurching push and pull of the host planet." "Icy Enceladus has it all: a huge subsurface oceanwith hydrothermal vents spewing the chemistry of life." "Titan is especially alluring - larger than Mercuryand speckled with methane lakes and organic compounds." "In 2026, NASA plans to send a drone to Titan,seeking out signs of life in its valleys and craters." "here may be 100 trillion exomoons in our galaxy alone - 100 times the number of planets."

 "Some may even be Earth sized,with atmospheres and surface water." "With so many places to find life, it seems only a matter of time before we make a discovery." "Some think we already have." "On June 30, 1976, the Viking lander on Marsfound something that still remains unexplained." "After being injected with nutrients, Martian sol samples expelled signature radioactive gas - just like soils from Earth." Sterilized Soil | Sterilized Soil | Sterilized Soil | Sterilized Soil | California Soil | Martian soil "Was this signal a natural phenomenon, or our firstencounter with alien biology?" The discovery of just one bacteria on Mars, or any other body of the Solar System would indicate that the whole chain of evolutions. Cosmic, chemical and biological, is at work everywhere. In that case, the creation of life anywhere in the universe would be more the rule than the exception. "If we haven't found life already, it may not be long until we do." "NASA scientists now think we are on the verge of discovery." "NASA scientists now think we are on the verge of discovery."Within all of our lifetimes we're going to understand "NASA scientists now think we are on the verge of discovery."that there is life on other bodies in the Solar System. that there is life on other bodies in the Solar System. We're going to understand the implications of that for evolution of life here on Earth.

 We're going to find planets around other stars that we can say we see potential signs of habitability in their atmospheres. That's all going to happen in the next 10 to 20 years. How exciting is that? We're on the verge of things that the people have wondered about for millennia: "Are we alone?" And here we are on the verge of finding that out. "If we do find life out there, what will we discover about ourselves?" "What chapter is Earth in the story of life?" The universe is nearly 14 billion years old. And our galaxy is something like 12 billion years old. So, there could be life out there that could be dramatically more advanced than the life that we have here on this planet. "Is Earth a latecomer on the cosmic stage?" "Just how ancient could life be?" 100 Thousand Years Ago 1 Million Years Ago 5 Million Years Ago 10 Million Years Ago 50 Million Years Ago 100 Million Years Ago 200 Million Years Ago 300 Million Years Ago 400 Million Years Ago 500 Million Years Ago 1 Billion Years Ago 2 Billion Years Ago 3 Billion Years Ago 4 Billion Years Ago 5 Billion Years Ago 10 Billion Years Ago 13.8 Billion Years Ago Event:

 The Big Bang "For its first few million years, the cosmos was too hot for life as we know it." "The ambient temperature would have boiled you alive." Event: The First Star "When it was finally cool enough for life, there were no stars and planetsOnly huge lumbering clouds of hydrogen." "After 70 million years, gravity took hold of these cloudsand spun them into the first generation of stars." "The first stars were massive and bright,but there was no life to watch them rise." "Vital heavy elements were still being forged in their hot stellar cores.Not even The Big Bang was hot enough to create them." "Vital heavy elements were still being forged in their hot stellar cores.Not even the Big Bang was hot enoughto create them."The only elements that were created on The Big Bang were hydrogen, The only elements that were created on The Big Bang were hydrogen, helium and a little bit of lithium. All the stuff that makes your life livable those elements weren't created on The Big Bang. The only place they were created is in the fiery cores of stars and the only way they could get into your body is if the stars were kind enough to explode. Event: Death And Rebirth "The explosive death of the first mid-sized starsseeded the cosmos with the ingredients for life." "From their ashes rose a second generation of suns -this time with rocky planets dancing around them." "This is the moment: the raw ingredients for life togetherfor the first time, ~13.7 billion years ago." "Some believe the conditions for life existed even earlier, in the warm afterglow of creation." "As the heat from the Big Bang faded,the universe passed through a goldilocks era." "Some 15 million years after time began,the ambient temperature reached a balmy 75º F (24º C)." "For millions of years, it was warm in all directions,like an endless summer day on Earth." "In theory, stars and planets could have formed this early on,in hypothesized ultra-dense regions of space." "If such regions existed, liquid water could have flowed abundantly,even on rogue planets far from any star."

 "Could this have been dawn of life?Alien beings feeding off the heat of the Big Bang?" "Somewhere out there may be a planet with lifenearly as old as the universe itself." "With a 10 billion year head start, the universe could be teeming withlife far more advanced than our own." "Despite decades of searching, no sign of alien lifehas ever been confirmed, intelligent or otherwise." "So where is everybody?" "Could we really be alone?" "Maybe primitive life is common, but intelligence is exceedingly rare." "Maybe space is just too vast for feasible communication." "Or maybe we are the first." "Could we be the opening chapter in a sprawling history of life?" 13.8 Billion Years 14 Billion Years 15 Billion Years 16 Billion Years 17 Billion Years 18 Billion Years 19 Billion Years 20 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 21 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 22 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 23 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 24 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 25 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 30 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 35 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 40 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 45 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 50 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 55 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 60 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 65 Billion Years"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 70 Billion Years

"The universe is young, and the vast majorityof planets have yet to be born." 80 Billion Years 90 Billion Years 100 Billion Years 110 Billion Years 120 Billion Years 130 Billion Years 140 Billion Years 150 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 200 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 250 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 300 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 350 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 400 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 450 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 500 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 600 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 700 Billion Years"The ingredients for life will be stewingfor another 100,000,000,000,000 years." 800 Billion Years 900 Billion Years 900 Billion Years"From this perspective, we are the dawn:the opening melody in a symphony of life." 1 Trillion Years"From this perspective, we are the dawn:the opening melody in a symphony of life." 2 Trillion Years"From this perspective, we are the dawn:the opening melody in a symphony of life." 4 Trillion Years"From this perspective, we are the dawn:the opening melody in a symphony of life." 8 Trillion Years"From this perspective, we are the dawn:the opening melody in a symphony of life." 16 Trillion Years"From this perspective, we are the dawn:the opening melody in a symphony of life." 32 Trillion Years"From this perspective, we are the dawn:the opening melody in a symphony of life." 32 Trillion Years 64 Trillion Years 70 Trillion Years 80 Trillion Years 90 Trillion Years 95 Trillion Years ~100 Trillion Years Later Event: Last Star Dies~100 Trillion Years Later "What might come long after us?" "Red dwarf stars can live up to 10 trillion years,bathing their planets in starlight for eons." "Life is much more probable on these time scales,where conditions are stable for vast periods of time."

 "Any beings living close to these stars would have to contendwith violent solar flares that continually threaten extinction." "Many of these planets would be tidally locked - one side permanentlyexposed to the sun, the other frozen in darkness." "But as Earth has taught us, life is remarkably adaptable." "What forms might life take when it has trillions of years to evolve?" "One day, somehow, the story of life will come to an end." "If we are the first chapter of that story, we have the chance to carry the torch of life far into the future." "And if biology does persist far into the future,then we live in a privileged moment." In later chapters, the universe will seem far different. "The expansion of spacetime will make distant stars invisible, and the night skies will go dark." "Perhaps life in the far future will wonder:What it was like to live in the universe's brilliant early days?" "We are lucky enough to know the answer." 

Monday, 15 June 2020

Is life on the Mars

 One of the most important goals of space explorationis the search for life outside the Earth. Could we have succeeded with Curiosity findingtraces of organic matter on Mars? Join us today as we talk about this in moredetail! It wouldn’t take a genius to know that Marshas been a popular pick on sci-fi films. Who can forget Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall? Besides that, there’s also Matt Damon’sThe Martian in 2015, John Carter in 2012, the Red Planet in 2000, and the most recentone, 2019’s Ad Astra. If you’re an avid viewer of these typesof film, I’m sure you may have wondered if these scenarios are possible at some point. If you are a long time fan of this channel,you know how much we love to talk about Mars! And who wouldn’t? I mean, this planet is practically our Earth’ssister, and if there’s anything that we can say that is the best candidate in ourSolar System to HOPEFULLY host our species in the future, it would certainly be the RedPlanet.

 To recall, Mars is practically similar toEarth in various numbers of ways. We both have an atmosphere, although in termsof composition, they are practically different. Our rotational speeds are practically thesame, it’s just that Mars moves 2.7% slower. So with all that’s been going on with Mars,what could probably be the most exciting news we would hear about it? New craters? Finding a sufficient atmosphere? Well, how about finding something that wouldindicate the possibility of life existing at some point? Does that do anything for ‘ya? I’m sure it does! But before you go hiding underground intoyour bunkers and go panic buying for supplies and weapons to prepare for an impending invasion,I’m obliged to calm you down and tell you that “No, we won’t see those aliens withpopped eyes and huge brains with no skulls, or even some species of E.T. from Mars anytimesoon.” I know, that’s quite a bummer but I promiseyou this story will be interesting.

 The news of finding evidence of life possibilityof Mars isn’t entirely something new. In 1996, the then US President Bill Clintonpresented to the press a sample from Antarctica discovered by Alan Hills in 1984. The rock named ALH84001 debris was suspectedto have ejected from Mars, and what’s special about it was that it contained traces of fossilsof what appear to be microbes! Sadly, at that conference, the press wasn’tinterested and Clinton was asked a more trivial question such as where did he get his tie. Plebs, am I right? Our planet has been sending expeditions tostudy Mars ever since 2001.

In fact, the whole world mourned when theOpportunity rover sent its last transmission back in 2018 after covering almost 45 kilometersand discovering a lot of useful information, one of which is the discovery of traces ofwater activity on Mars. However, there are still a lot of expeditionson the Red Planet working just as hard as our Oppy. For instance, in 2012, the Curiosity roverlanded on Mars with a specific goal in mind -- or it’s programming rather. The rover landed on the Gale Crater, a landdepression spanning about 154 kilometers in diameter. What’s special about this is that astronomersstrongly suspect that this crater might have been a dried up lake, since there were indicatorsthere of ancient water activity, and as we know from biology, when there’s water, there’sprobably life. This is exactly what Curiosity’s missionwas: to perform some scraping and some small digging on the soil at Gale and hopefullyfind something there that would indicate life or the possibility of it. And in 2018, Curiosity transmitted promisingresults. What it found is one key factor in determininglife, organic molecules. So, let’s explore a bit about organic matter,in case the previous sentence didn’t really do anything for you. When we say something is ‘organic’, whatit simply means is that it is related to something living or to life.

 In a more technical sense, organic moleculesare compounds paired with carbon to form a new one. So what’s so special about carbon? Well, all life here on Earth, more specifically,life as we humans understand it, is a result of carbon compounds combining to more complexforms. Specifically speaking, when something is alive,it is made up of carbon compounds and quite expectedly, it is bound to emit or releasecarbon compounds. Can you put things together at this point? I bet you already can, but in case you stillhaven’t, the organic molecules found on Mars signify the presence of life at somepoint in its history. And let’s stress that word out for a bit,shall we? Take note that we used the word “signify”. We want to be careful as to not get the hypeextremely above our heads and out of control. What the findings indicate are simply a possibility,although it doesn’t necessarily verify life, but still a possibility. Of course there is more to add to this lateron, but at least for the moment, let’s take it one step at a time. So, we found organic compounds on Mars, butit doesn’t necessarily imply that there was or there currently is life on it. I mean, organic molecule production is notan exclusive process, there are other means to make this besides having them emitted byliving things. They can also be made through energy fromlight and heat, to name a few. One key compound that astronomers have discoveredthat might indicate life on Mars was the presence of methane in the atmosphere. Now, this isn’t new as ESA’s Mars Expressorbiter first verified this back in 2004, but of course that only set the gears turningon the interest about it. In fact, Mars’ atmosphere was detected tohave 60 ppbv or parts per billion volume. What Curiosity discovered was the amount ofmethane in the vicinity of the Gale Crater varies in a seasonal manner. Specifically speaking, the rover detects thehighest levels of the gas at summer phases, while it detects the lowest at winter time.


 This indicates that there is some kind ofactivity under the crater that causes it to freeze in winter and melt and evaporate insummer. Does this mean there is life underneath thecrater? Well, not exactly. As we have mentioned earlier, organic moleculeproduction can occur even without the help of biological life. However, the point of controversy here isthat the amount of methane measured somehow appears to replenish itself. How do we know it gets replenished? Well, the nature of methane, and of courseall things, doesn’t really make it permanent. In fact, the light rays from the Sun willeventually break down molecules of methane after several hundreds of years, and, thisis not the case for Mars. If there are tiny Martians watching this rightnow from under the surface of Gale, we would love to hear from you. Send us a sign that you’re there! Another thing to consider is if the amountof methane in the crater wasn’t caused by biological processes, it could, on the otherhand, indicate extraordinary geological processes going on from the planetary interior, whichis equally as interesting as finding life because it will lead us to more informationabout the Red Planet. This is exactly the mission of NASA’s InSightLander, which landed on Mars in November 2018, which can dig up to 5 meters to test for geologicalactivity. I know we’ve come a long way in the story,but the tale of finding organic molecules didn’t end with methane. Curiosity also found organic molecules thatare more complex than methane. Upon digging the Gale Crater, the rover stumbledto mudstones that might have been billions of years old. These rocks are sedimentary and are most commonlyfound submerged in bodies of water, such as at the bottom of oceans, lake floors, lagoonsor even rivers, and most importantly, a great place to store and grow organic compounds. Remember how scientists initially thoughtthe crater used to be a lake? These rocks attest to that hypothesis. So how exactly do these mudstones become integralto finding organic molecules on Mars? The process goes like this.

 One of the core functions of the Curiosityrover is to be able to dig at a certain depth and effectively take a few samples. Through the help of the rover’s very ownanalysis suite called SAM, or Sample Analysis at Mars, the samples were heated up 500 degreesCelsius, so that the organic molecules will be released in the form of gas. Sounds like an easy task, doesn’t it? Not entirely. Some large organic molecules are not thateasy to vaporize due to the presence of sulfur, and when the presence of this element makesit much harder to heat up. However, despite the challenge, the roverstill managed to isolate organic molecules from the mudstone, which included benzene,toluene, small carbon chains such as propane and butane, and most importantly, the onethat we’re gonna talk about more, thiophenes..and a few isotopes of it. So what exactly is it that makes thiophenesspecial? Before we dive more into that, let’s talka bit about thiophenes here on Earth. Here, these compounds are commonly found oncoals and oil crudes, and is most generally used for agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Besides the previously mentioned, thiophenescan also be found in white truffles, which is a really expensive and familiar ingredientfor those who love exquisite culinary experiences. Okay, does this mean that there are Martianmushrooms growing on the top of Gale Crater as we speak? Well, right around the time it was discovered,not entirely. See, the samples which Curiosity took camefrom a place that can really be easily tampered. 

The rover can only dig up to 5 centimeters. Do you have a key for your door in your pocket? Try to bury that to the ground. That’s about the best depth it dug on. Not really that much isn’t it? The compounds that are stored at a depth thisshallow are strongly influenced by radiation from outer space, either from the Sun or fromany other sources. Add to that the various other compounds inthe mudstone that could have heavily affected the organic ones, it is possible that thethiophenes they have found might really be shredded parts of larger organic moleculesin the crater. It’s just that they haven’t dug deep enoughto be more certain about it. We can also attribute the presence of theorganic compounds to cosmological processes that happen frequently in our Solar System. For instance, asteroids or meteors could,at some point, have reached the Gale Crater, which may have been carrying organic substances,which later got embedded to the soil in the crater. As outrageous as it sounds, this is also avalid possibility. After all, this is how a huge part of thewater in our planet came here. As servants of science, we can’t just throwany possibility out of the window. We have to be open to a lot of possibilities. But all hope is not lost! Part of the InSight Lander’s mission isto lower down a heat probe into the mudstones in Gale and attempt to discover whether thelarger organic molecules where the thiophene may have came from. Moreover, at around the start of the secondhalf of 2020, Russia’s Rosalind Franklin will bring the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer,or MOMA, for short to aid the investigation of the compounds. Besides that, a recent publication on theAstrobiology journal presented results that may increase the excitement on the searchand verification of organic molecules on Mars. According to the paper, the correlations foundin the analyses of the samples studies suggest that it might have been biological processesthat resulted in the presence of the organic compounds found on the mudstones. However, it’s still not mushrooms that mighthave done it and they’re leaning towards inferring that it might have been a resultof bacterial processes.

 I guess Martian white truffle oil is stilla long, long way ahead in the future, but our astronomers are strongly motivated tofind the answers as soon as we can. Because of these results, the scientists recommendedto bring back samples specifically containing carbon and sulfur isotopes, as these are indicatorsof organisms sustaining themselves. If we can find traces of what the organismstreat as their “food”, we inch closer towards verifying the existence of life. I know some of you are bummed out to findout that we’re still far ahead towards finding life on Mars, but think of it this way. The organic compounds from the Gale Craterindicates that this place held up the necessary ingredients for life to have possibly existed. And who knows? Maybe life did exist or is currently existingon Mars, but just not in the way that we know it. If you have watched the movie Evolution backin 2001, the aliens there were nitrogen-based organisms, and it’s a strong possibilitynot just for Mars but for other places as well. As astronaut Neil Armstrong once said, “Onesmall step for man is a giant leap for mankind.” We just need to hold on there and keep exploring! To end this episode, let me pass on a questionto you, my dear viewers: assuming we have are to find life on Mars, would they be ofsimilar composition as us? Are they going to be carbon-based, or arethey going to be based on something else? Do you think we’re closer to finding extraterrestriallife? Let us know what you think! Leave your answers in the comment sectionbelow. You know, one of the pastimes I enjoy is readingwhat you wrote. I hope there’s a way to show you how gratefulwe are for viewing! If you like this episode, don’t forget topress the like button to keep us going. If you like content like these showing upon your feeds, why don’t you click on that subscribe button and the bell icon too sothat you get notified whenever something new comes up? We release new videos almost every day! See you soon! Stay insanely curious!