From: Jiri Grygar <grygar@fzu.cz> Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 11:58:12 GMT Subject: Dukaz zivota na Marsu?! Message-Id: <DvtIL1.5zu@nntp-hep.fzu.cz>
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 7 Aug 96 21:29:34 PDT From: Hans J. Haubold <haubold@relay1.austria.eu.net> Release: August 7, 1996 Contact: Louis Friedman Sagan Calls Evidence on Life on Mars Possible Turning Point in Human History The first evidence that life may have arisen on another planet has just been discovered by NASA scientists. This truly profound discovery may change how humanity views its place in the universe. A team of NASA and university scientists headed by Dr. David McKay of Johnson Space Center has found evidence suggestive of microfossil in a meteorite that fell to Earth apparently after it was blasted off Mars by an impact with an asteroid or a comet. This meteorite is a serendipitous sample of another planet. It only hints at what might be discovered by spacecraft that actually land on Mars. "This is the most provocative and evocative piece of evidence for life beyond Earth." said Cornell University scientist and Planetary Society President, Prof. Carl Sagan. "If the results are verified, it is a turning point in human history, suggesting that life exists not on just two planets in one paltry solar system, but throughout this magnificent universe," he added. Dr. Sagan wondered, "Will fossil forms like this prove to be identical to Earth-based life or very different? What variety of life forms are possible on other worlds? Every American and every human should take pride in this accomplishment of NASA." "The profound implications of this discovery reach beyond science to all aspects of human life," said Dr. Louis D. Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society. "For all of our history we have wondered if life on Earth is unique. Are we alone in the universe? Now, for the first time, we have scientific evidence to begin to answer this question." "However, there is still much we don't know," Dr. Friedman added. "This discovery does not conclusively indicate whether life on Mars once existed or exists there now; nor does it tell us about the origin of life. The findings must be confirmed by other scientific investigations. Even then, we will just begin to understand the processes involved." Dr Sagan noted, "The apparent microfossil is dated to more than 3 billion years ago. This is a time when Mars was warmer and wetter than it is today, with rivers, lakes and possibly even oceans. This is just the epoch in martin history when you expect that life may have arisen." The possibility of life on Mars has attracted explorers throughout this century, from telescopic observers to robotic spacecraft. That exploration is continuing this year . Three missions will soon launch to the Red Planet, two from the United States and one from an international consortium led by the Russians. The US will send Mars Global Surveyor to orbit the planet and Mars Pathfinder to land on it and deploy a small robotic rover. The Russian launch will send Mars '96, one of the most ambitious spacecraft ever built. That mission will send a large orbiter, two landers and two penetrators to explore the planet. In 1998, three more missions will be launched to Mars, two by the United States and one by Japan. NASA has plans to pursue this exploration every Mars launch opportunity (every 26 months) in a continuing program called Mars Surveyor. However, none of these missions as planned will carry instruments specifically designed to look for evidence of life. "Future missions to Mars will no doubt someday include a sample return mission," Dr. Friedman stated. "We need samples of the martian soil and atmosphere to examine in the laboratory before we can truly determine the possibilities for past, present or future life on Mars." The priority that the spacefaring nations have given Mars exploration is reflected in the Mars Together program endorsed by U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. As part of their space and technical cooperation agreements,the two nations have agreed to explore Mars together in a series of cooperative spacecraft missions. "With this discovery so strongly suggesting past life on Mars, we see that this priority was not misplaced," Dr. Friedman noted. "The spacefaring nations are well prepared to pursue the question of life on Mars. The excitement raised by this discovery will grow as we expand our investigations of our neighboring world." The Planetary Society has been a leading advocate for Mars exploration for over a decade. Through its research projects, such as the Mars Balloon and Mars Rover, the Society has also contributed to the technology that will be needed to examine Mars in detail. Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded The Planetary Society in 1980 as a nonprofit membership organization to advance the exploration of the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life. The Society's 100,000 members in over 100 countries make it the largest space interest group in the world. ------------------------------------- Hans J. Haubold Room F0839, UN Outer Space Office Vienna International Centre P.O. Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Phone : +43-1-21131-4949 (office) +43-1-21345-4953 (secretary) Fax : +43-1-21345-5830 (office) Phone : =43-1-7154347 (home) E-mail: hjh2@aip.org haubold@ekpvs2.dnet.tuwien.ac.at WWW: http://ecf.hq.eso.org/~ralbrech/un/un-homepage.html Date: 08/07/96 Time: 21:29:34 -------------------------------------
From: Jiri Grygar <grygar@fzu.cz> Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 11:56:27 GMT Subject: Re: FLASH_ Life On Mars!? (fwd) Message-Id: <DvtII3.5v1@nntp-hep.fzu.cz>
Jeste k zivotu na Marsu. Text originalniho sdeleni v Science je pristupnyu pres Internet. Jiri Grygar Subject: Re: FLASH_ Life On Mars!? There are a couple of web sites that may be of interest on this topic. The text of the article from SCIENCE is available at http://www.aaas.org/science/mars/full/924.html There are articles and background information put together by SEDS at http://www.seds.org/spaceviews/hotnews.html =========================================================== Andrea L. Duda Networked Information Access Coordinator Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara E-mail: duda@library.ucsb.edu InfoSurf: http://www.library.ucsb.edu =========================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard KOMZIK ######################################################################## # Astronomical Institute # E-mail (INTERNET): rkomzik@ta3.sk # # Slovak Academy of Sciences # or: astrkmzk@savba.savba.sk # # 059 60 Tatranska Lomnica # Fax: +42-969-967 656 # # THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC # Telephone: +42-969-967 866 # # # WWW: http://www.ta3.sk/~rkomzik # ########################################################################
From: Jiri Grygar <grygar@fzu.cz> Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 11:54:23 GMT Subject: Mars Meteorite Images Available via Internet (fwd) Message-Id: <DvtIEo.5p7@nntp-hep.fzu.cz>
Vcera byl oznamen pravdepodobny vyskyt stop mikroorganismu v meteoritu z Antarktidy, jenz temer urcite priletel z Marsu. Puvodni prace je otistena v nejnovejsim cisle Science. Internet se otrasa v zakladech a proto uvadim moznosti, kde ziskat dalsi podrobnosti. Jiri Grygar ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 12:57:37 -0400 From: NASA HQ Public Affairs Office <NASANews@luna.osf.hq.nasa.gov> To: press-release-other3@venus.hq.nasa.gov Subject: Mars Meteorite Images Available via Internet David E. Steitz Headquarters, Washington, DC August 7, 1996 (Phone: 202/358-1730) RELEASE: I96-6 MARS METEORITE IMAGES AVAILABLE VIA THE INTERNET Photographs that support today's briefing at which a team of NASA and Stanford scientists will discuss their findings showing strong circumstantial evidence of possible early Martian life, including microfossil ramains found in a Martian meteorite, are available via the Internet. Real time audio of today's briefing also will be available from these sites. The Internet World Wide Web URLs are: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/flash http://cu-ames.arc.nasa.gov/marslife http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/marslife - end - NASA press releases and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov. In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type the words "subscribe press-release" (no quotes). The system will reply with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription. A second automatic message will include additional information on the service. NASA releases also are available via CompuServe using the command GO NASA.