This
headline ran around the world today.
It is the
most logical and reasonable thing. The sad part is that there is no more
flowing water on the surface of Mars.
The Mars lander Phoenix has now been on the surface for nearly 50 days. science.nasa.gov
NASA's
scientists reported that analysis of a soil sample heated in an oven—using
equipment installed on the Phoenix lander—revealed significant traces of
hydrogen.
The
material was heated until the water it contained evaporated. Sensors in the
furnace analyzed the elements and confirmed, for the first time in human
history, that there is water on another planet. jpl.nasa.gov
But not in liquid form. Because of the low
temperatures, everything freezes almost immediately. Yet at a depth of ten
centimeters, there is ice and snow—and I assume that at greater depths, there
is liquid water as well. It's cause for
celebration. Nothing better than with a glass of water. Water from Mars. What does that mean? The chances of finding another planet with
water were, according to scientific estimates, zero—or rather, the chances of
finding another planet at all were zero, according to scientific opinion.
They have
already found more than two hundred extrasolar planets, some of which contain
hydrogen elements in their atmospheres, recognizable by color. Each element
filters out different light spectra in distinct colors.
Some moons
of planets in our solar system most likely have water on their surfaces,
although frozen. If two planets in a
system have water, then the possibility of planets with water throughout the
entire universe doubles.
On Mars,
there is water at a depth of fewer than ten centimeters.
Mars has an
atmosphere.
Mars has
soil similar to Earth's. It is perhaps more abundant in basic elements than
what we have here.
Mars used
to have volcanic eruptions, and as you can see in some pictures, it still has
gas or hot water leaks—like the geysers in Iceland. This means there is heat
inside Mars. So there is. The
temperature in a planet's interior is the decisive factor essential for life to
develop at all. Even if Earth's orbit is closer to the Sun than those of Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, and others, our life depends on the temperature of our planet.
More
important than the Sun is the heat inside a planet or a moon. Life adapts easily to different situations.
In cold
places, life does not develop—or life does not begin there—for chemical
reasons. Some reactions simply do not work. But life itself, once it has
started, can be preserved and can continue to thrive in cold zones without any
problems. Today, the temperature on Mars
is minus 23 degrees Celsius. But milder temperatures are also measured, up to 4
degrees Celsius above freezing.
On Earth,
icy temperatures are no obstacle to living or working.
With much
joy in icy temperatures, different kinds of sports can be practiced.
In the
entire economic sector, everything is adapted to lower temperatures.
Engines
need additives to the fuel in winter, and water requires antifreeze.
Living
quarters include heating systems. People
need warm clothes; animals need neither. They have everything they require.
Absorbing
liquid from snow and ice is easy. I
don't think I'm the only one who has ever loosened a piece of ice from a bucket
of frozen water or eaten some snow. It's tasteless, but it's pure water.
An animal
has even less trouble drinking or eating snow or ice to quench its thirst. Scientists have argued very authoritatively
against the idea that there could be life on other planets.
First
opposing argument: There is no other planet! Yes, there is—there are countless!
Second
opposing argument: Planets have no water! Yes, ice, snow, water, hydrogen—it is
everywhere!
Third
opposing argument: It is too cold for organic life! As long as there is
volcanic activity on a celestial body, there is enough heat to sustain life!
Fourth
opposing argument: The atmosphere is not like Earth's and is therefore
poisonous for life forms known to us.
Nobody wants to talk about our past.
Life did
not begin with oxygen as the predominant part of the atmosphere in the early
times of our planet.
Existing
life did not breathe the mixture of oxygen and nitrogen from the beginning.
No—carbon dioxide was one of the gases they breathed until they suffocated from
it themselves, in the same way that we die of suffocation today.
The methane
produced when organic food rots is equally toxic.
But once it
was valuable and provided life for many species. When the Earth began to cool after its
formation, life was born.
In the
beginning, before the human race began, there were no trees with green leaves
that absorbed carbon dioxide and released oxygen into the environment by
filtering and assimilating it.
From then
on, photosynthesis—which converts specific frequencies of the light spectrum
into energy—directly served plants for growth.
In the
early days, it was a cautious beginning, taken over by algae and plankton. No, life back then had to cope with gas
mixtures in the atmosphere that would be deadly for us today.
But over
time, so much oxygen accumulated that all living things in that atmosphere
drowned.
At some
point in the past, there was a breakdown.
A minority
of elements won out and still occupy the place of the powerful. Dominant
species became extinct. New life forms that could exist with oxygen began their
triumphal march. As the forests burn
down, the composition of the atmosphere could change at any time. In fact, this
change is already happening. The air is different from before, and therefore it
is getting hotter. All components can be changed, and we could be eradicated
from this Earth again. We must know that
evolution has no goal or idol to copy. No—life itself is the goal. The slow confirmation that water exists makes
me suspicious that there is more to report.
When and
how—and whoever passes on the final information that we are not the only life
form in this universe—has not yet been decided.
The time
will come. Most likely on a small scale. An intimate microbe or biological cell
will be the first find. Then the elephants will appear, and everything in
between. I ask you to read two books to
learn authoritatively about these subjects:
Frank
Schätzing: The Swarm (or News from an Unknown Universe).
Hoimar von
Ditfurth: In the Beginning Was Hydrogen.
I do not have the scientific authority to teach biology, geology,
astronomy, or evolution. Nor should I talk about religion. I am not a
missionary or pastor of any religion, although I am a man of great faith.
I cannot
talk about interstellar politics; I am not a diplomat.
There is
little left to say with authority. I am an agronomist.
About
biological life—how to live and maintain a healthy life, about plants and the
soil that different plants need—that's what I can talk about much more. But there is so much to discuss, and if none
of the scientists do it—because they do and because they don't—we will express
an opinion.
We will
give our opinion with a clear mind and without scientific doubt. We will speak
and think without bias. We will talk with courage and with faith. Life cannot
be locked in a cage, I once said.
Life is
like gravity. Where there is an atom, there is gravity—and there is life.
It would be
better to say that where there is no atom, there is life. To speak of these dimensions and their
interactions, I do not feel sufficiently authorized to do so.
It does not
refer to the authority of a command post.
To speak and teach with authority requires
academic skills or experience in a professional field. I apologize for any misconceptions I may
have. Everything should be done with the courage to give impulses to new thoughts
without losing faith.
Josef Bauer
