Bacteria from Mars found inside ancient meteorite

NASA confirms that the meteor ALH 84001 contains fossilized bacteria

www.telegraph.co.uk

Their fossilised remains have been found in the rock, which was blasted out of Mars 16 million years ago as the solar system was forming.

The meteorite, called Allen Hills 84001, made headlines in 1996 after fossils were found in it. Scientists believed they were bacteria from Earth that contaminated the rock while it lay in the frozen wastes.

But a Nasa report now says there is strong evidence they originated on Mars, according to The Sun.

Dr Emily Baldwin, deputy editor of the UK's Astronomy Now magazine, said: "Many scientists argued that what looked like fossils in the meteor

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.timesonline.co.uk

[edit on 29-11-2009 by Dances With Angels]



MOD NOTE: Title changed to match the article title.

Thread title MUST exactly match title of story being alerted, per the Submission Guidelines.

[edit on 30-11-2009 by TheBorg]

Amazing! At first, they originally denied that there were bacteria on this meteor and now they are finally confirming that they actually are bacteria. Just think of the implications of this. We now have the scientific establishment confirming that life also originated on a different planet other than our own. I personally think that there are billions of other planets with life and possibly millions of planets with intelligent life. Oh I hope that this is a huge news story for the next few weeks. Later in the article it says how NASA is going to announce it later this week.

www.telegraph.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Pretty sweet info if it pans out to be true (still waiting on NASA since I heard this a few days ago).

Just want to say though- If NASA comes out and says "it is most likely life", then all those "disclosure by the end of the year" people were right.

Sure...its no bipedal, intelligent, space man with technology and philosophy for all...but it SURLY WOULD be disclosure of alien life straight from the horse's mouth.

OH man, I can't even imagine how many folks here have posted things like- "no way is disclosure coming by the end of the year, are you stupid" or "just like all predictions on this site, it will not happen".

Yes, yes, YES, again, this is not "first contact with intelligent life", but it IS disclosure of LIFE from space.

Making said "discovery", IF true, arguably the BIGGEST discovery in the history of mankind.

Life becomes a statistic amongst the stars. And, with it so close to our planet, that statistic MUST be very high (unless you want to think we have a magic solar system).

Very cool, and IF true, the greatest news I have ever heard from any scientific study ever produced from anywhere.

And...again...IN YOUR FACE anti-disclosure people (me included, I laughed at the disclosure people, just not openly).

The world is changing...you know the Pope had early access to this information FOR SURE. The Vatican's announcement on "possible life from space" could easily have been just damage control in light of the upcoming news "life is/was elsewhere"

Biggest news to hit this planet since "whatever killed the dinosaurs". Sadly, the majority our dumbed-down society of product-consuming-zombies, will probably brush this off as "no big deal", but those of us who are a little more "interested in universal truths and the validity of good science" will no doubt accept this as "ground shaking news" if it is true.

Anyone else want to mock the disclosure people, or have you earned a little needed humility on the subject?

Can't wait to see if NASA brings this to the table...right now its all rumors.

But, if it comes...it IS disclosure of ET by the END of 2009.

That is "on the money" and "in line" with the whole 2009-disclosure camp. Score for them.

I'm confused about something. The source article said something about fossilized remains found in in meteor rock that was blasted out Mars when the solar system was forming. How can that be? Is it suggesting that there was life here before the solar system was created? Sorry if this is a stupid question.

In all honesty, though, if it's bacterial life that is the subject of disclosure, who really cares? Not Joe Blow on the street. But if it's the disclosure of the exopolitical kind, then way bigger deal.

Both articles are overly sensationalistic.

There is, as yet, no proof.

Although not a smoking gun, the new findings considerably strengthened the Mars life arguments that have been hotly and passionately debated for a decade, given that the discovery of life on Mars is the Holy Grail of science.

The original article:
spaceflightnow.com...

[edit on 11/29/2009 by Phage]

reply to post by TheComte


Yes but for the longest time it has just been ' there is no life in the universe'. That defies logic any way, but for the Never a Strait Answer crew to even hint at any kind of life outside our planet is a big step in the right direction.

Didn't the Vatican already own up to the strong possibility of there being alien life in the univers?

Vatican admits alien life could exist
Posted on Thursday, 15 May, 2008 | 3:26 | Comments: 9
Category: Spirituality

The pope's chief astronomer says that life on Mars cannot be ruled out. Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space.

The search for forms of extraterrestrial life, he says, does not contradict belief in God. The official Vatican newspaper headlines his article 'Aliens Are My Brother'.

Source



[edit on 29-11-2009 by W3RLIED2]

reply to post by W3RLIED2

Please provide a source from NASA saying "there is no life in the universe".

Originally posted by TheComte
In all honesty, though, if it's bacterial life that is the subject of disclosure, who really cares? Not Joe Blow on the street. But if it's the disclosure of the exopolitical kind, then way bigger deal.

That is a scary and sad statement. I am ready to face thousands of people saying the very same thing in light of this incredible news.

Life...from space...no matter how complex or small...still means....life from space.

This is possibly the biggest discovery ever made by science and the largest news to come from any agency/outfit dealing with space exploration.

The news is huge...it would prove that life not only exists outside earth's domain, but that life is SO populated amongst the stars, that it could be found on two planets around one sun...I won't even begin saying how "earth shaking that is.

You are right, "joe blow" will not care....but then again, if it don't have CGI effects, nudity and violence, Mr Blow don't give a damn.

But for a thinking man/woman...this is paramount news, possibly the biggest ever released to the human race.

reply to post by Phage


PHAGE!!! Oh man, YOU are the guy I want to hear from on this matter...not your "insight into factual matters, mind you"...but your own feelings on the whole deal as an "important discovery".

If NASA brings this to the table...are you as floored as I am?

I am not shocked...just floored I am alive to witness the discovery.

What say you?

PS-Of course, it is all rumors right now...just "what if it is disclosed".

[edit on 29-11-2009 by Mr Mask]

Originally posted by TheComte
In all honesty, though, if it's bacterial life that is the subject of disclosure, who really cares? Not Joe Blow on the street. But if it's the disclosure of the exopolitical kind, then way bigger deal.

Hello from Mrs. Joe Blow, here.

I care.

Disclosure doesn't have to be a ufo landing on the white house lawn.

If this rock has something in it, no matter how small, proving life from another planet, that is pretty amazing to me.

There's been talk of bacterial life for years. Where have you all been? Let me guess, you won't allow yourself to believe it unless someone like NASA spells it out for you.

Well, let me tell you there is bacterial life everywhere, believe it or not, even drifting in space, in comets and meteors. It's ho hum by now but I guess if this is the first you're hearing of it then it may be exciting to you.

Joe Blow isn't going to bat an eyelash for some bacterium.

The first positive identification of extraterrestrial microbial life will be reported on Sunday, 29 July 2001 at the Astrobiology session of the 46th Annual SPIE meeting in San Diego, USA by Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University.

www.scienceagogo.com...

www.panspermia.org...

[edit on 29-11-2009 by TheComte]

reply to post by TheComte


Talk of...and proof of...are two different stories.

I am far from "being shocked" that this "may be true".

I am shocked that we "may have proof".

reply to post by Mr Mask


I edited and post some links. I ask again, where have you guys been?

reply to post by TheComte


Again...I reiterate...theory is shy of PROOF.

Disclosure *man I hate that word these days) of "proof" would be a whole new ball game.

Where have I been? I dunno...watching this story unfold with a drooling jaw since 1996.

Originally posted by Mr Mask

Originally posted by TheComte
In all honesty, though, if it's bacterial life that is the subject of disclosure, who really cares? Not Joe Blow on the street. But if it's the disclosure of the exopolitical kind, then way bigger deal.

That is a scary and sad statement. I am ready to face thousands of people saying the very same thing in light of this incredible news.

Life...from space...no matter how complex or small...still means....life from space.

This is possibly the biggest discovery ever made by science and the largest news to come from any agency/outfit dealing with space exploration.

The news is huge...it would prove that life not only exists outside earth's domain, but that life is SO populated amongst the stars, that it could be found on two planets around one sun...I won't even begin saying how "earth shaking that is.

You are right, "joe blow" will not care....but then again, if it don't have CGI effects, nudity and violence, Mr Blow don't give a damn.

But for a thinking man/woman...this is paramount news, possibly the biggest ever released to the human race.

Nothing more I would want to add to this thread than has just been said above !

Time for everyone , forgetting race / religion etc , to just sit down and re evaluate exactly WHO/WHAT WE ARE !

.. and where do our children go from here ?

This could be disclosure by the end of the year If N.A.S.A confirms life from mars ...

However as it says in many articles.... the case for a mars origin is now stronger ... not confirmed just stronger .. there are other things that need to be eliminated first before a smoking gun can be announced.

I will point out though , that if rocks from mars can find there way here .. then rocks from Earth can certainly find there way to mars...

I fear the hardcore non believers will jump on this band wagon even if the big announcement is made . They will just say that the life on mars originated from earth as we cross contaminated the planet with meteors from earth.

i would also feel proud to be alive when they announce even a single cell organism that originates on another planet .. that would confirm to me what i already know.

This is important (if confirmed) but i fear we have a ways to go yet .... life will find a way ... so its only a matter of time .. i wonder if this is the first step to that time?

QS

Chandra Wickramasinghe is acknowledged as being one of the world’s leading experts on interstellar material and the origins of life. He has made many important contributions in this field, publishing over 350 papers in major scientific journals, over 75 in the high-impact journal Nature. In 1974 he first proposed the theory that dust in interstellar space and in comets was largely organic, a theory that has now been vindicated.

en.wikipedia.org...

Hopefully this will start to change humanity's egotistical view of our existence. Ofcourse there is life...if there isn't thats an awful waste of space!

reply to post by TheComte


Again...sir...theories of Panspermia are old hat and overly published.

This is not rumor of "said old-said old" theory.

If you can not separate or acknowledge the importance of "NASA openly saying bacterial life is/has been discovered" from "decade old theories of speculation", then I won't go further to make it clear to you.

Just so you know...there is a huge difference between hearing all your life that Santa as been bringing you gifts once a year...and actually catching the fat man in the act.

Please...see that you are down playing a "new discovery" by providing theory that is "over 30 years old".

If you want to play the whole game of "been there, seen that" on this, go ahead...just know you are matching theories to facts and evidence as if they are somehow the same thing.

Of course...we all STILL need to see NASA actually release this.

But the hype is growing...and it seems this one may pan out if the LT is releasing the information right after the Pope himself had to backtrack to "allow alien life" officially into the equation of Catholic faith.