What Would Life on Another planet look like if we found it?
I’ve always been very interested in space and the galaxy and what it would be like to live on another planet, or how the universe and all the planets first evolved… I’ve also been very interested in learning more about life on another planet and if its even possible for human beings to live on another planet. Two years ago, in grade seven I decided to do an Inquiry project on Will Mars ever Sustain a Human Life? I was excited to do this project because it was something that I was eager to discover more about, but the information that I found was a little disappointing unfortunately. There wasn’t much information out there besides scientists are doing more research and using different tools to find out if anything is out there. So, this time I decided to expand on this topic, and research something that I have been wondering about ever since then… What would life on another planet look like if we found it?

Astronomers and scientists are constantly doing research and exploring space to one day hopefully answer a big question whether life exists on other planets. Although they have done a lot of research in outer space, they haven’t found any evidence of any other life forms on any other planet besides earth. One thing that they have discovered is that we are very lucky to live on earth. Most people don’t really think about this but because earth is very hospitable it makes earth a good place to live unlike other planets that are not. Even though some planets are hospitable like earth, scientists don’t believe that these planets have enough hospitable features like earth does to sustain any kind of life. Earth is one of a kind for having all these features that we need to survive. Another feature that earth has that makes living there easy is that it is not too hot, or not too cold. Earths distance from the sun provides the planet with the right amount of warmth, sunlight and energy for humans to live. Living on another planet would be very hard. For example, living on Mars would be extremely tough, it would be so tough that some scientists and researchers say even the hardiest of microbes might struggle to survive on this planet. Mars has a thin atmosphere and the surface of mars is baked with radiation. The planet is mostly arid, dusty and wind-swept. Although it would be tough to live and even survive on Mars, mars could’ve possibly sustained life in the distant past when Mars had a thicker atmosphere and a wetter surface…

When Red Planet scientist named Janice, Bishop was invited to look at the carbonate rocks in the Mojave Desert a few years ago, Janice said that instantly she saw implications for Mars. She had already published an International Journal of Astrobiology paper calling iron oxides an “ultraviolet sunscreen” in 2006. The newer study that got published in 2011 showed that the Mojave rocks that had been collected, had iron oxide coatings under which carbonates were hiding. “They were all hiding under this red mineral at the top called hematite.” Bishop told Seeker in an interview. Hematite is another mineral found on Mars. There is also a possibility of a new device that could speed up the search for life on Mars. This device is a green laser that can scan surfaces on Mars to find evidence of any past or even present life in less than a second! It is called the Stanoff Bio finder and can do the job of detecting organisms as small as microbes from several feet away. It was named for its hands-off approach to possibly find life on mars.
All this information about possibly a past life on mars wanted to make me research even more! I found out that on July 21st, 1976, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, scientists and spectators were about to watch humankind’s very first close-up look at the surface of Mars. What was shown in the pictures wasn’t an obvious sign of any type of life forms living on mars, but a very different kind of world. A world with character and history all its own. The landers dug up some of the extra-terrestrial soil and tested it to try and find signs of biological activity. The tests that had been done found some unexpected and interesting chemical reactions, but there were still no exact signs of any life. Meanwhile, a pair of Viking orbiters had taken some pictures. In these pictures, it showed dry river beds indicating that at some point in time Mars had liquid water on its surface. That means that mars had a thicker atmosphere and possibly could’ve been enough to support life.

Scientists are still in the process of researching and are still discovering new tools and theories to answer this question; but what I’ve learned from all this research is that there will always be more to discover. What I mean by this is that when I researched for my inquiry project two years ago, there wasn’t as much information as there is now. In two years, more research has been done and there is even more to learn and wonder about. I think that this project has helped me learn that not every question will be answered right off the bat. It takes scientists and researchers time to find answers, and this question that I have been wondering about has been something scientists have been trying to answer for a very long time. I am excited and eager to discover what’s next! What will scientists discover next, and what will they share with us? Will they ever really answer this question? When will it be answered? This project has left me with many questions to wonder about, but the main thing I want to know, what will I find out next…

Bibliography
PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/lifebeyondearth/.
Frank, Adam. “Why Aren’t The Aliens Here Already?” NPR, NPR, 27 May 2015, www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/05/27/409670639/why-arent-the-aliens-here-already.
“Gray and White Robot.” Free Stock Photos, www.pexels.com/photo/gray-and-white-robot-73910/.
Howell, Elizabeth. “On Mars, Life Could Be Hiding Under the Rocks.” Seeker, Seeker, 30 Jan. 2017, www.seeker.com/mars-microbes-rocks-biology-life-astrobiology-iron-sunscreen-2225424742.html.
“Is There Life On Other Planets?” Wonderopolis, wonderopolis.org/wonder/is-there-life-on-other-planets.
“Planet Earth.” Free Stock Photos, www.pexels.com/photo/planet-earth-41950/.
Temming, Maria. “’Biofinder’ Bot Could Significantly Accelerate Search For Life on Mars.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 27 Oct. 2016, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/space/biofinder-bot-could-sighttps://youtu.be/j09z-NEc1KUnificantly-accelerate-search-for-life-on-mars/.