Life On Mars Found 40 Years Ago?

[Harley]

Life On Mars Found 40 Years Ago? Study Says 1970s Viking Rovers May Have Had Key Evidence

23 OCT 2016



This year the Curiosity rover supposedly discovered traces of life on Mars, but a study claims NASA may have had evidence of life in the Martian soil as early as 1976.

The Viking rovers 1 and 2 were Earth’s first spacecrafts to land on Mars, they took the first high-resolution images of the red planet and were the first to collect geological data.

Now, in a study recently published in the journal of Astrobiology, scientists Gilbert Levin and Patricia Ann Straat, from Arizona State University and the US National Institutes of Health, say the soil collected by the robots 40 years ago is in need of another testing.


[Click Photo For More Details On Phys.org]

Viking 1 and 2 conducted three probes into Mars’ biology by collecting soil, one of which was done with the Labeled Release (LR) experiment. Scientists tested the soil picked up by the rovers for any signs of life by mixing it with nutrient-rich water.

Supposedly, if the soil contained signs of life, it would metabolize the nutrients in the water dropped by the robot – and, surprisingly, it did. The LR test was reportedly compared to Earth soil from Death Valley to Antarctica just to be sure, which seemed to support a positive result for life on Mars.

However, the two other soil experiments proved to be less exciting as they contained no evidence of organic material, and therefore no presence of life, so NASA concluded that a non-biological process must be responsible for the supposed false positive of LR’s result.

However, in light of recent findings, the study by Dr.Levin and Dr.Straat into LR’s results suggests it’s possible that biological processes were responsible for the positive result and the doctors are calling for the soil to be reexamined.

"Many believe that the martian environment is inimical to life and the LR responses were nonbiological, attributed to an as-yet-unidentified oxidant (or oxidants) in the martian soil," the authors write.

“That extant life is a strong possibility, that abiotic interpretations of the LR data are not conclusive, and that, even setting our conclusion aside, biology should still be considered as an explanation for the LR experiment.”

NASA concurred that the study makes a strong case for the contradictory results to be reexamined, adding that the possibility of life on Mars “must be considered”.

"Even if one is not convinced that the Viking LR results give strong evidence for life on Mars, this paper clearly shows that the possibility must be considered,"said Dr. Chris McKay, a senior editor of Astrobiology and an astrobiologist with NASA, to Science Daily.

"We cannot rule out the biological explanation. This has implications for plans for sample return from Mars and for future human missions," he added.

[Cidersomerset]

Study says 1970s Viking rovers may have had key evidence

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=9_4rsQou4qw

Published on 22 Oct 2016


This year the Curiosity rover supposedly discovered traces of life on Mars, but a
study claims NASA may have had evidence of life in the Martian soil as early as
1976.The Viking rovers 1 and 2 were Earth’s first spacecrafts to land on Mars, they
took the first high-resolution images of the red planet and were the first to collect
geological data.

Now, in a study recently published in the journal of Astrobiology, scientists Gilbert
Levin and Patricia Ann Straat, from Arizona State University and the US National
Institutes of Health, say the soil collected by the robots 40 years ago is in need of
another testing.

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RT NEWS....

Life on Mars found 40 yrs ago? Study says 1970s Viking rovers may have had key evidence
Published time: 23 Oct, 2016 02:48

This year the Curiosity rover supposedly discovered traces of life on Mars, but a
study claims NASA may have had evidence of life in the Martian soil as early as
1976. The Viking rovers 1 and 2 were Earth’s first spacecrafts to land on Mars, they
took the first high-resolution images of the red planet and were the first to collect
geological data.

https://www.rt.com/viral/363785-life-on-mars-viking/

[Fellow Aspirant]

For context, here are three old articles from New Scientist about claims that the Viking DID find signs of life. The first is from 1976, the second from 2001 and the last is from 2013:

1. 1976, The Viking Mars landers detect chemical signatures indicative of life

"Tests performed on Martian soil samples by NASA’s Viking landers hinted at chemical evidence of life. One experiment mixed soil with radioactive-carbon-labelled nutrients and then tested for the production of radioactive methane gas.

The test reported a positive result. The production of radioactive methane suggested that something in the soil was metabolising the nutrients and producing radioactive gas. But other experiments on board failed to find any evidence of life, so NASA declared the result a false positive.

Despite that, one of the original scientists – and others who have since re-analysed the data – still stand by the finding. They argue that the other experiments on board were ill-equipped to search for evidence of the organic molecules – a key indicator of life."



30 July 2001
Did Viking missions see life on Mars?

By Greg Miller

A claim that NASA overlooked evidence of life on Mars in data collected by the Viking missions 25 years ago has been met with interest and scepticism.

Joseph Miller, a visiting professor at the University of Southern California, re-analysed data collected by probes sent to the Martian surface by the Viking 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1976. He believes tests performed on soil samples reveal a cycle of chemical activity similar to the daily rhythms seen in living organisms on Earth.

The Viking mission included several experiments designed to look for life. In one, a nutrient solution labelled with radioactive carbon was added to a soil sample in a covered petri dish. The idea was that any living organisms would consume the nutrients and release the radioactive carbon in gas form. This gas would be detected by a radiation monitor.

The original researchers found evidence of gas release, but less than they anticipated would be given off by living organisms, says Colin Pillinger of the UK’s Open University.

“At the time, the scientists involved in the experiments did an awful lot of soul-searching about what the experiments meant,” Pillinger says. But in the end, they concluded they did not have evidence for life.

So the data sat collecting dust for more than two decades before Miller, an expert on circadian rhythyms, became interested. Simply accessing the data turned out to be a challenge – it was stored in a long-forgotten format on magnetic tapes. But eventually Miller tracked down printouts from the original experiments.

Poring over the records, he found that the efflux of gas from the soil samples fluctuated on a 24.66 hour cycle – remarkably close to the 24.68 hour Martian day. Miller interprets this as strong evidence of a biological process.

He presented his findings, based on about a third of the original Viking data, at an astrobiology symposium at the annual meeting of the International Society for Optical Engineering.

However, not everyone embraces Miller’s interpretation. “If he’s found some sort of diurnal variation, that’s very interesting, but let’s not jump to conclusions,” says John Bridges, a Mars expert at the Natural History Museum in London.

Pillinger is also cautious. Part of the reason the original team discounted the possibility of life was that they didn’t find organic compounds in the soil samples, he says. “Without organic material, they couldn’t believe they had an organic effect.” he says. “To have proof of life, you have to find the body.”


20 February 2013
We need a piece of Mars to continue search for life


"THERE’S no need to cry over spilt chemicals. Thanks to an accident inside one of its instruments, NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected the presence of a substance called perchlorate in Martian soil (see “Curiosity’s spills add thrills to the Mars life hunt“).

Not exactly earth-shattering, you might think. But it adds a new twist to the most controversial chapter in Martian history: did the Viking landers detect life?

This is a question that has divided the Viking missions’ researchers for almost three decades. One group has resolutely stuck to its guns that the landers detected signs of life. Equally adamant is a second group who say they absolutely did not – a view that has always been the official version of events.

The unexpected discovery of perchlorate supplies a legitimate reason to reopen the debate. Perchlorate is an oxidising agent that destroys organic molecules. Its presence could finally explain the disputed results.

The episode highlights another important issue. Curiosity is a sophisticated machine, but there is only so much soil chemistry we can do from millions of kilometres away. A sample return mission must be a priority."


B.

[norman]

A new presentation. The audio is a bit difficult to hear for the first half hour because the speaker's microphone wasn't getting through to the recorder.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_dW63MAlBaU