Life on Mars

Such speculation exploded in the mid-19th century, following telescopic observation that found such things as ice caps that changed with the season and apparent canals – which were later found to be optical illusions. In 1854, William Whewell, a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University who poularized the word scientist, theorizes that Mars has seas, land and possibly life forms. In 1895, American astronomer Percival Lowell published his book Mars, followed by Mars and its Canals in 1906, proposing that the canals are the work of a long-gone civilization. This idea led British writer H. G. Wells to write The War of the Worlds in 1897, telling of an invasion by aliens from Mars who are fleeing that planet’s desiccation.

Speculation subsided after 1975, when the NASA Viking lander showed a Mars that looked distressingly like the moon and did not respond to tests searching for life.

In recent years speculation has grown again, however – prodded by a still-unconfirmed study saying that a meteorite from Mars carried signs of past microscopic life. The search for life, or signs of past life, is a major driving force in current NASA programs, notably the Mars Exploration Rovers of 2004.

Scientists, philosophers and theologians have speculated on the implications of what such evidence might mean.

External link

• NASA look at knowledge about Mars and its influence on science and culture

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