NASA scientist says ‘we’re close’ to huge reveal about life on Mars — and humanity ‘isn’t prepared’ for it
A top scientist at NASA says the agency will soon disclose something “revolutionary” about alien life forms.
Planetary science division director Dr Jim Green boasted the agency was close to “making some announcements” about finding life on Mars — but that we’re not ready for it.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he warned the world wasn’t prepared for the discovery of life on another planet, which may only be a couple of years away.
“It will be revolutionary,” Dr Green said. “It’s like when (Renaissance-era astronomer Nicolaus) Copernicus stated, ‘No, we go around the Sun.’ Completely revolutionary.
“It will start a whole new line of thinking. I don’t think we’re prepared for the results. We’re not.”
He added that he’s worried because NASA was close to finding life and announcing the discovery, and he didn’t know what would happen afterwards.
“What happens next is a whole new set of scientific questions,” Dr Green continued.
“Is that life like us? How are we related? Can life move from planet to planet or do we have a spark and just the right environment and that spark generates life — like us or not like us — based on the chemical environment that it is in?”
In a statement, NASA said it was excited about future missions to Mars, as well as the prospect of finding life on another planet.
“A key component of NASA’s work is to search for the building blocks and signs of life elsewhere, and we’re excited about the scientific findings of our rovers on Mars currently and upcoming, as well as missions to Europa, Titan, and other places,” a spokesperson told Fox News.
“Just as NASA astronauts landing on the Moon changed our conception of our place in the universe, the discovery of life elsewhere also would be a civilisation changing event.
“As with all discoveries, NASA would work to confirm and share validated information with the world as soon as possible.”
The space agency is scheduled to launch its Mars 2020 rover next July.
Among other things, the robot will hunt for signs of extraterrestrial life on the red planet.
The alien-hunting ExoMars rover, launched by the European Space Agency, will follow in 2021. Both will drill deep into Mars’ crust in their search.
Dr Green said the missions provided an “opportunity to find life”, adding that “we’ve never drilled that deep down” into the planet.
“When we first started the field of astrobiology in the ’90s we started looking for extreme life,” Dr Green continued.
“We go down in mines two miles deep into the Earth and if they were weeping with water they were full of life.
“We have gone in nuclear cesspools, places where you’d think nothing could survive, and they are full of life. And the bottom line is where there is water there is life.”
Source: The Sun