Currently there is a fantastic amount of information coming back from Mars. There are two rovers and several high-resolution satellite cameras scanning the planet, and the first thing to be properly uncovered was the infamous Face on Mars:

The formation is actually very pretty, in the latest high-resolution pictures. Its region, ‘Cydonia’ (a bad science fiction name if ever I heard one) is also very beautiful.

With that old chestnut done and dusted, there are much more interesting things to observe on the planet. Firstly, there is a strange, mobile spot – perhaps a robot – wandering about on the planet. It appears to be trying to climb into a crater. Said robot is hypothesised to have been created by an intelligent species alien to Mars.

Secondly, the polar regions offer some pretty crazy pictures which resemble living things – lichen and trees (right). Arthur C. Clarke has offered speculation that they do indeed represent plant-like life. Its not entirely crazy speculation, either – the poles do contain water, and the temperatures are comparable to those in Antarctica, where terrestrial moss, lichen and algae live.

The hypothesis goes, these living organisms could exist in a layer between the polar ice and the Martian surface. In spring, the frost melts, leaving liquid water and sunlight available, letting the organism grow and absorb nutrients from the soil. Then it goes into hibernation until next spring.

The conventional (read: boring) story is: they’re interesting formations of frost melting.

For me personally, the pictures are compelling. These are separate structures which are occurring in clumps, with many in a clump, and fewer individuals outside the clumps – just like grass on a sand dune. Some are bigger and others smaller – just what you’d expect from a colony of living organisms. The ‘trees’ show a branching internal structure – just like Earth trees – as if to carry liquid to photosynthetic parts. The ‘lichen’ appears to be following cracks in the terrain – perhaps sheltering from the wind and dust storms – just like terrestrial lichen would.

Of course the formations might be formed via non-living, inorganic processes. There are several dynamics operating on Mars which are unfamiliar to us. At the poles, the dark winter causes the atmosphere itself to condense into slabs of CO2 ice. In spring, sun makes the CO2 sublime back into gas, producing 400 km/h winds. The wind moves water vapour and dust around, producing clouds and frost formations. The poles feature beautiful, unexplained spirals. In one picture, wind-blown dunes have formed what looks like Arabic script. How long until someone finds the name of Allah on Mars?

I am a scientist and a skeptic, and I believe there is no evidence that intelligent life has visited our solar system. The face on Mars was, of course, a human-made illusion. On the other hand, the pictures I have shown you so far are just the tip of the iceberg. How about a giant caterpillar? Evenly-spaced domes? A maze? A smiley face? Kermit the frog (right)?

Next in the series: Crop circles

Posted by Luke H on Friday, October 13th, 2006 at 4:14 pm.