“Life on Mars? The Truth Behind NASA’s Most Confusing Claim

NewsPlusEntertainment

“NASA’s Mars Discovery: Shocking Error or Real Evidence?”  “Life on Mars? The Truth Behind NASA’s Most Confusing Claim

Transcript

00:00If you look up at the red planet in the night sky, Mars, for centuries, humans have wondered,

00:05could life exist there? Today, NASA scientists believe they may have found possible signs,

00:09not aliens walking on the surface, but chemical fingerprints hidden inside Martian rocks.

00:14The key to solving this mystery lies in one of the most ambitious projects in space exploration

00:18history, the Mars Sample Return Mission. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. China has

00:23announced plans for its own Mars Sample Return Mission, aiming for 2028. If successful,

00:28China could be the first to confirm signs of life on Mars, but will humanity rise to the

00:33challenge or will it falter? Here's why this mission is unlike anything before. The samples would be

00:38placed in special sealed tubes on Mars. Another spacecraft, built jointly by NASA and the European

00:43Space Agency, would then land, collect those tubes, launch them into Martian orbit, and return them to

00:49Earth. If successful, this would be the first time in history that humans bring back material from

00:54another planet. It all started with an audacious plan cooked up by researchers at NASA S. Johnson

00:59Space Center in Houston. They had an idea. Send a robot to Mars to hunt for signs of past or present

01:04life. This wasn't your average robot. They wanted something sturdy, smart and long-lasting. Enter Percy,

01:11named after the famous jazz musician Thelonious Monk. After seven years of work, Percy was born,

01:16a $2.7 billion marvel of engineering. Standing 2 meters tall and weighing over 3,000 pounds,

01:22Percy landed on Mars on February 2021. Its mission searched for fossils or chemical signs of ancient

01:28life. Equipped with 25 cameras, a drill, microphones, and even a super-powered magnifying glass called

01:34SuperCam, Percy is like nothing sent to Mars before. It's designed to last at least two years on the

01:39planet's dusty surface. But NASA hopes it'll keep going for many more. As Percy explores, it collects

01:45samples of rocks and soil, seals them in sterile metal tubes, and stores them in a special depot on

01:49the surface. Each tube is like a tiny time capsule, potentially preserving evidence of life or chemical

01:55reactions that happened on Mars. In total, NASA plans for Percy to collect up to 43 pounds of samples,

02:01enough to fill several backpacks. Sounds simple, right? Well, these aren't ordinary samples.

02:05To avoid contaminating Mars with Earth bacteria, Percy must collect and seal each sample with

02:10robotic arms and tools without touching them. If any human or earthly bacteria were to get in,

02:15it would be impossible to tell if the DNA found in samples was from Earth or Mars. That's why every

02:20part of the sampling process is automated and fully controlled from Earth. But that's only the start.

02:25The real challenge comes when trying to get those samples back to Earth. That's where the second part

02:29of the mission comes in. NASA's planning to send an Earth-Moon rocket to Mars carrying a fetch rover.

02:34This little rover will find Percy's sample cache, pick up the tubes and drive them to a waiting

02:39launch vehicle. This vehicle will blast off from Mars' orbit, carrying the precious cargo towards

02:44home. Sounds impossible? Well, it is. This would be the first time in history humans bring back

02:49material from another planet. The risk is enormous. If anything goes wrong, the samples could be lost

02:54forever or worse. Contaminate Mars so NASA has poured over the plan, running countless simulations

03:00and stress tests to make sure everything works perfectly. But there's a catch. The mission is one

03:04of the most expensive and technically challenging ever attempted. Some officials fear the costs are

03:09too high. If cancelled, it would waste decades of research and billions of dollars already invested,

03:14scientists warn. It could set back planetary exploration for an entire generation. Despite

03:19the odds, NASA pressed on, partnering with the European Space Agency to share the cost and expertise.

03:25Together, they overcame seemingly impossible engineering challenges. Now the showpiece is almost ready

03:30for action. The Earth-Moon rocket, a modified version of NASA's space launch system used for

03:35the Artemis moon missions, is undergoing final tests. It'll be the most powerful rocket ever flown.

03:40Capable of lifting over 130 tons into orbit, the Fetch rover is undergoing rigorous testing in Mars-like

03:45terrain at NASA's test facility in California. Meanwhile, Percy is getting ready to begin its sample

03:50collection quest. But here's where things get complicated. Collecting the samples is just the

03:55beginning. Getting them back to Earth is a whole new challenge. The launch window for getting the samples

04:00to Earth is very small. The rockets can only fly during certain times of the year when Earth and

04:04Mars are lined up correctly. Otherwise, the trip takes much longer and exposes astronauts to dangerous

04:09levels of radiation. The next launch window won't open again until 2026, so if Percy doesn't finish

04:15collecting samples in time, the mission could be delayed for years. But that's not the only hurdle.

04:20Bringing samples back to Earth requires an international effort. NASA and ESA need to coordinate closely

04:26with each other and with other space agencies around the world, including those in charge of launching

04:30the rockets and tracking them through space. This coordination is essential to keep the project on

04:35schedule and within budget. Delays and setbacks are inevitable, so NASA has to be prepared to adapt

04:40quickly and find solutions to unexpected problems, and the pressure is mounting. In 2019, China announced

04:46its own plans for a sample return mission, aiming to land on Mars by 2031 and bring back samples three years

04:52later. Chinese officials said they planned to search for signs of ancient microbial life and organic

04:57molecules that could help answer fundamental questions about the origins of life. Although the

05:01mission isn't a direct competitor to NASA's efforts, it does add to the urgency. If Chinese scientists beat

05:07NASA to the punch, they all claim a major victory in the global space race and earn bragging rights as

05:11leaders in planetary exploration. And that's just the start. There are also concerns about the possibility

05:16of contamination. If the samples brought back from Mars contain any form of life, even microbial,

05:21it could be a major discovery. But it could also pose a risk to Earth. NASA has strict protocols

05:26in place to prevent any potential contamination, such as by sterilizing spacecraft components and

05:32conducting thorough tests on returned samples. But these measures can only do so much. There's

05:36always a risk that some form of life could hitch a ride on a spacecraft and survive the journey to

05:41Earth. So it's no surprise that the idea of bringing back samples from Mars has sparked both

05:45excitement and fear. On one hand, the potential for discovery is enormous. If NASA finds evidence of even

05:51fossilized microbes in the samples, it would prove that life is not unique to Earth. Imagine the

05:56implications for biology, religion and philosophy. Such a discovery would rewrite our understanding of

06:01life itself. It would also suggest that life may be common throughout the universe, perhaps on moons

06:06like Europa and Enceladus or even on distant exoplanets orbiting other stars. On the other hand,

06:11there are risks involved in bringing back Martian samples to Earth. If the samples contain any form of

06:17life, even microbial, it could pose a risk to our planet. NASA has strict protocols in place to

06:22prevent contamination. But there's always a chance that some lifeforms could survive the journey.

06:26That's why it's so important to proceed with caution and take all necessary precautions before bringing

06:32any samples back to Earth. Even if the samples don't contain life, they could still provide valuable

06:37insights into the history of Mars and the solar system as a whole. By studying Martian rocks and soil,

06:42NASA hopes to learn more about the planet's past, including whether it was once habitable and how it

06:47evolved over time, this knowledge could help guide future exploration efforts and inform our search

06:51for life elsewhere in the universe. In the end, the decision of whether or not to bring back samples

06:56from Mars is a difficult one. But one thing is clear, if Mars holds the answers to these profound

07:01questions, the coming decade could be when humanity uncovers the truth.

07:05ship carrying Municipaletics, the coming decade could be before it previously seemed to us,

07:07to prove that space could be

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended