A new study has suggested that alien life form in its basic form might be living on Mars. Scientists made this conclusion after analyzing the images of Martian surface taken by NASA's Curiosity Rover.
The research report revealed that algae, lichens, and mushrooms were spotted in the Martian surface. Researchers claimed that they have 15 photos that feature these possible living forms, and they made it clear that these images were taken in a time period of just three days.
The report has been published in the Journal of Astrobiology and Space Science.
"There are no geological or other abiogenic forces on Earth which can produce sedimentary structures, by the hundreds, which have mushroom shapes, stems, stalks, and shed what looks like spores on the surrounding surface. In fact, fifteen specimens were photographed by NASA growing out of the ground in just three days," said Regina Dass, a researcher at the Molecular Fungal Genetics and Mycotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry, India told Express.co.uk.
Dr Vincenzo Rizzo, a National Research Council biogeologist revealed that the presence of methane on Mars could be an indication of living forms on the Red Planet.
"As we detail in our article, 90 percent of terrestrial methane is biological in origin and seasonal fluctuations in atmospheric methane are directly correlated with plant growth and death cycles. The cyclic fluctuations in Martian methane is reflective of active biology which is also depicted in before and after pictures of specimens photographed by NASA," said Rizzo.
Even though the study report is receiving mixed responses from space experts, Regina Dass strongly believes that the bizarre minute structures spotted on Mars share striking similarities with terrestrial lichens.
"These Martian specimens have mushroom-shapes, stalks and stems and are the same height and have the same growth patterns as terrestrial lichens," added Dass.
A few weeks back, Scott C Waring, a self-proclaimed extraterrestrial had claimed to have spotted fossil-like structures on the Red Planet. After making this discovery, Waring argued that alien life on Mars is a reality, and claimed that space agencies like NASA are well aware of extraterrestrial existence.
