Is there life on mars?

Question

"some strange shapes have started to appear on the surface of Mars. In 2008, for example, the Opportunity rover captured a rock that looks like a female figure"

Comments

Interesting topic for a claim! For the future, it's best to frame claims as statements. So for this one you could use something like, "Claim: There is life on Mars."

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You could include more sources pertaining to the life on Mars debate in order to solidify your claim. Including a quote can be helpful although the quote provided does not help the reader understand the potential for life on Mars because it just talks of a rock that looks like an organism.

Answer 1

Although Mars has a capability to sustain life in the far future, currently there is no evidence of life on mars. This has been throughly researched and looked into for a very long time and most likely what you are seeing from 2008 is fake news.

This article here can also give you more information

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2022/6/29/23171032/mars-nasa-perserverance-search-for-life-luca

Comments

Good job providing an explanation and source link. Don't forget to add a rating to your fact-checks. (see the sidebar of this page).

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This is a very concise fact check that gets the point across whilst leaving the ability for open-ended discussion. I appreciate you leaving the link to the article that gives more depth on the matter.

Answer 2

This article is a good piece of evidence for this claim. It talks about the myth and conspiracies and life in Mars and identifies why the myth of life on Mars is false.

An article from National Geographic believes that there could have technically been life on Mars, but not human life. The article says "Mars may have once hosted a rich abundance of microbes." It's not definitive, but a study shows that these microbe life forms have been able to survive in the freezing tempratures on Mars.

This article from ScientificAmerican suggests that these microbe lifeforms are "methane-producing microbes could once have thrived." Talking more so about the possibility of life in the past and not in the present.

This theory will remain unsolved. Most evidence pount towards there being life on Mars in the past but no evidence suggests life on Mars today.  

Answer 3

This is not a claim that can be evaluated as true or false. There is zero direct evidence of life on Mars, other than certain chemical signatures. However, not even alien fossils have been found.

A certain rock vaguely shaped like a human figure is no proof of alien life on Mars. If any publication says anything otherwise, they are lying.

We can also examine the specific source: a clickbait article which targets those susceptible to conspiracy theories. The article does not specifically say that aliens do in fact live on Mars, and does not offer the image as proof -- in fact, it directly states that the image is an example of pareidolia, when the human mind recognizes a vaguely-human-shaped object as human. The article, despite its poor writing and grammar, does not claim that aliens truly live on Mars.

As such, I will rate this as "Cannot be true or false".

Comments

I am unsure how the evidence that you have provided suggests that the claim could be true. If there is no evidence suggesting that life could be supported, would the claim not be false? Or are you suggesting that there is a possibility that there is life on mars?

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This is a thoughtful and concise fact check. You state your reasoning clearly and also evaluate the source which the info came from. Other sources would help to make your claim stronger.

Answer 4

This claim is false. There is no evidence that verifies life on Mars. According to http://Exoplanet Exploration, "Despite decades of investigation – and even two initially exciting results – sure signs of life have yet to emerge." However, scientists are actively working with current information that will further their research process. Mary Voytek, director of the NASA Astrobiology Program said, "NASA has invested a lot in the search for life on Mars, and learned a lot that is going to help us as we look at other habitable places in the solar system – like the icy moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter." In 1996, a rock from Mars was presented in NASA's auditorium in Washington, D.C. Researchers explained it had formed 4.5 million years ago. From this discovery, David McKay of the JohnsonSpaceCenter said, "“We believe that these are indeed microfossils from Mars,” McKay said, adding that the evidence wasn’t “absolute proof” of past Martian life but rather “pointers in that direction.”

Answer 5

A postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated "This is one of only a few systems with multiple, small, habitable-zone planets that we know of," referencing three previously discovered planets in this system, called TOI 700 b, c, and d.  These planets orbit in the habitable zone.

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1720/second-earth-sized-world-found-in-systems-habitable-zone/

Nothing regards Mars as being a part of the habitable zone. However, even though Mars isn't among the planets deemed habitable, this claim can't be true or false. According to another NASA source, "Mars seems to be a promising nearby place to search for life beyond Earth. Despite decades of Investigation - and even two initially exciting results - sure signs of life have yet to emerge."

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1763/the-hunt-for-life-on-mars-and-elsewhere-in-the-solar-system/#:~:text=While%20Mars%20seems%20to%20be,life%20have%20yet%20to%20emerge.

Scientifically there cannot be a claim put on Mars, because, "the big question we have for Mars is, did life ever exist on that planet?" Meaning that credible information hasn't been found yet. However, rock samples that have been collected (cores) can answer that question. A diversity of rocks were collected such as sedimentary rocks, suggesting they were laid down by water, which is fantastic at preserving evidence of ancient life, and igneous rocks (molten magma that solidified) which can enlighten scientists about the planetary evolution of Mars. These rocks are used to see if there is a possibility of ancient life on Mars.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-rock-samples/#23

Comments

Good job. Your fact check outlines how while Mars may not be inhabitable right now it could've been or it could be in the future. I agree that this fact check is one of the interesting cases in which the claim is neither false or true.

Answer 6

This claim is not true or false. Although the possibility of life on Mars is true in the future, there is currently no evidence on Mars. This article from NASA elaborates on potential past life on Mars. The article states that there is no current evidence of past life on MARS.

Comments

Great job at explaining what the article is saying. To strengthen your fact check I would add additional reliable sources to back up your claim. In addition, I would explain further this article and also explain this headline and how it can affect its readers.

Answer 7

There is no real answer to this question. According to multiple NASA experts, this is just a rock and because of wind, it formed into a human-like figure. Former astronomers have said that people tend to see familiar objects and think their something that we have seen before. There are not any official statements from NASA officials, people who have led the missions, or humans who are currently on Mars who have any account of extraterrestrial, human, or whatever creature this presumes to be. Nobody knows whether there is actually life on Mars... yet. 

https://www.space.com/4876-female-figure-mars-rock.html

Answer 8

Firstly the article provided is called, " Don't Believe This: TOP 5 Crazy Space Myths." The use of the word myth shows that everything contained in the article can't be backed up by evidence. The claims are all false or can't be proven thus the quote provided from the article cannot be substantiated.

Currently we do have a rover on mars called Perseverance. It is collecting samples of rock, carbon and dirt from the surface to bring back to Earth. The rover must return first however before we are able to analyze the samples it collected for signs of life. Billions of years ago it is possible that Mars had life on it. Back then mars was warm and wet and much more similar to earths habitat. Perseverance also found volcanic materials on the surface, which we know from studying volcanic rocks on Earth, can give energy and sustainability to microbes and bacteria. Again however we will not know anything for certain until Perseverance returns to Earth.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/514/depositional-processes-of-the-margin-unit/

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/498/was-there-life-on-mars/