images from: Mars explorer home page (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/)
For Immediate Release:
September 19, 2005
by Joe Vanoot
While searching the surface of the red planet, the Mars rover opportunity has found what might be a Martian life from. This large yellow object looks like it may be a living thing but at this point scientists still disagree on whether or not it is in fact alive. Further questions need to be answered before the debate is settled.
One of the main goals for this mission was to determine whether or not it was even possible for life to exist on Mars. For life to exist on any planet a source of energy, minerals such as carbon and liquid water are necessary. Scientists have also been looking for clues as to whether or not organisms currently live on the planet's surface. “The rover crawled out of a crater and there was this giant specimen”, exclaimed Dr. Robe O. Driver, ”we approached it carefully, not wanting to scare it away.
Some scientists are skeptical and feel that this may only be a practical joke. One of the skeptics, Dr. Space E. Mann had this to say, “It is clearly not a living organism, if you observe it closely you can see that its a late model Oldsmobile Cutlass”. He added, “I don't know how those students got that car on Mars but its a pretty good joke.”
Other scientists are not so quick to dismiss it. “It may look a lot like a car, but think about how easy cars make it for people to get around, it only makes sense that a similar body shape would evolve elsewhere in the solar system” head scientist Dr. Red Rocks argued. “The possibility of life on Mars is too exciting to rule out the idea that this is a living organism."
( Author's note: This article and the associated image are fictional. While it is true that a planet needs to have a source of energy, minerals such as carbon and liquid water for life to exist and the “specimen” is a late model Oldsmobile Cutlass, it is not alive and was never on Mars.)
To read a real discussion about the possibility of life on Mars, read: Does Mars Have Life? An interview with Chris McKay. Information about what is is necessary for life to exist on a planet came from this article.