Advances in Earth Science ›› 2002, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (4): 515-520. doi: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2002.04.0515

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PROGRESS IN STUDIES OF MARTIAN LIFE

NI  Huai-wei, ZHENG  Yong-fei   

  1. Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  • Received:2001-10-16 Revised:2002-03-25 Online:2002-12-20 Published:2002-08-01

NI Huai-wei, ZHENG Yong-fei. PROGRESS IN STUDIES OF MARTIAN LIFE[J]. Advances in Earth Science, 2002, 17(4): 515-520.

The controversy over life-past on Mars, or perhaps present, has being gone for a long time. Someone concluded that some forms of life must have been on Mars at least 1.3 to 3.6 billion years before. This was based on the large quantities of carbonate globules and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) found in ALH84001 mteorite. But many people ascribe all characters in ALH84001 to abiological origins. The focus of  discussions gradually concentrates on the temperature at which the carbonate globules formed, since there is little chance that lives on the Earth can survive temperature above 115℃(Mars could be analogized). There are also researchers who concern the origin of  organism in  the meteorite. Multi-subject studies have given contradictive interpretations. This article summarizes the research results on ALH84001 meteorite and Martian life which have been published in many major international journals since 1996(some studies on other meteorites also included),  considering that it is impossible to conclude whether there was Martian life or not. Keeping on explorating Mars thoroughly to get more proofs is highly necessary. The Mars exploration plans beginning with NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey will inspire a second upsurge on Martian life study.

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