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| A meteorite. (File photo/CNS) |
A research
team formed by scientists from China, Switzerland, Germany and Japan conducted
a series of tests on a meteorite and have found evidence suggesting life on
Mars, reports state broadcaster China National Radio.
The
broadcaster interviewed Lin Yangting, the team leader and a researcher at the
Chinese Academy of Science's Institute of Geology and Geophysics.
The team
found dozens of carbon particles, only one-tenth of a hair's width in size, on
a meteorite found on Earth. It was attributed to a Mars origin because of its
elements profile, which matches what the US analyzed and documented when the
country explored the planet in 1976.
The
scientists were able to determine that carbon particles did not come from
pollutants that could have "clung" to the meteorite after entering
the earth's atmosphere. The 120th Mars rock ever discovered on Earth was found
"unlikely to be contaminated" in the desert of Morocco in 2011. It
was also the youngest meteorite, dated at appromixately 600 million years old,
said Lin.
The carbon
particles could be pure carbon or organic matter, so the team examined them
under a Raman spectroscopy device that can measure in nanometers. Then the
hydrogen, oxygen and carbon structure of the contents were analyzed. The team
compared the data with coal and ruled that the particles are organic matter and
possibly sediments from underground water.
Another US
research team which also analyzed the particles, however, disagreed with Lin's
conclusions. They believe the particles to have been formed by lava, meaning
the carbon content does not prove life existed on Mars.
Lin's team
found an article in an international journal which claims that groundwater
existed on Mars 200 million years ago. The Chinese researcher said the life of
the planet would be quite simple and primitive, such as bacteria, since so far
no one has seen any living creature on the red planet.
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