Life on Mars
Since the eighteenth century, many astronomers were convinced that life would be found on Mars. In 1877, an Italian astronomer drew a map of Mars, which showed long straight channels on the planet. He believed that these canals were built by intelligent beings. In 1894, an American built an observatory to study these canals. He believed them to be the work of living creatures struggling to survive.
In 1965, when the Mariner IV space probe first visited Mars, we found it to be a lifeless world. The channels were dry beds. Later, in 1976, when Viking 1 and 2 soft-landed on the Martian surface, they sent pictures to us of the red-coloured planet. These explorations provided us with knowledge that Mars has an extremely thin atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide. Analysis of the Martian soil scooped up by Viking 1 revealed no sign of carbon based organisms.
Since the surface of Mars is unprotected by an ozone layer, it is bombarded and sterilized by solar ultraviolet radiation. Mars is, therefore, an inhospitable environment for life as we know it.
And even if we do find some micro-organisms, we’ll have to wonder if they got blown to Mars from Earth by solar winds.
So next time you read about life on Mars, don’t expect to shake hands with a space neighbour.
Some of us may indulge in a little wishful thinking about extraterrestrial life. But, it appears that our ‘life on Mars’ theory is more wishful than thinking. It does make us consider our own planet and ask “Why us?” “Only us?” “How is it that it seems Earth alone is just right for life?”
The whole universe is finely tuned to support life on this planet. The chemical building blocks, the laws of physics such as nuclear and electromagnetic forces and gravity, the astronomy of our setting within our solar system and the Milky Way are a few examples of necessary conditions to enable life to exist here. These prerequisites apply specifically to Earth.
Even as scientists search for life on other planets, they are increasingly aware of how finely tuned and exquisitely tailored the universe is in order to support life here. Of course, given the acknowledgment of a well designed universe, another question naturally flows from it. If there is an orderly design, is there a Designer who ordered it thus? Science is being nudged into the realm of theology, despite its reluctance to go there. Otherwise science must find sufficiently satisfying answers within the context of the natural order.
As we discover more about this wonderful universe through the instruments of science we are increasingly faced with the necessity to rethink old questions in light of new evidence. And perhaps we will come up with different answers.
Most religions offer an explanation to the question “How did we get here?” Some even speculate about whether Earth’s creatures alone exist or if there might be other life forms in other places.
While the “how” question is an important place to start, it is not an adequate place to stop. If how, then “why?” Why indeed are we here? Is there some purpose, some goal, some higher call which places demands on us as humans?
We have considered the exquisite design inherent in our universe. If there is such highly developed structure, might there not also be an Intelligence responsible for it?
Dr. David Humphreys and Debbie Hughes
