NASA's much-hyped press conference conducted on June 07, 2018 and it has revealed something very special about extraterrestrial life on Mars. During the press meet, the world's leading space agency reported that it has found ancient organic matter and mysterious methane on the red planet.
These startling discoveries were made with the help of NASA's Curiosity Rover, which has been studying the Martian surface since 2012. Experts believe that the presence of ancient organic matter in the red planet could be a solid evidence of an ancient civilization, which used to rule on Mars.
Alien enthusiasts strongly believed that NASA will announce the presence of alien life on Mars. However, Dr Michelle Thaller, assistant director for Science Communication at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center quickly poured cold water on these speculations and she made it clear that they have discovered organic molecules from that planet which could act as the building blocks of life.
It should be also noted that the organic molecules can be produced by chemical reactions, which are unrelated to life. Scientists at NASA added that they are still unclear whether these organic compounds were formed due to a biological process or not.
"Organic molecules contain carbon and hydrogen, and also may include oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. While commonly associated with life, organic molecules also can be created by non-biological processes and are not necessarily indicators of life," said NASA during the press conference, Michigan Live reports.
While just a few hours before the press conference, Nick Pope, a former British MOD employee predicted that the space agency is going to unveil the presence of organic materials on Mars, on the same time, Dr Jennifer Eigenbrode, an astrobiologist at Goddard argued that the organic matter found on Mars could have come from ancient life.
"I predict the NASA press conference today will cover whether organic molecules on Mars come from biological or non-biological sources. So we may get the discussion of 'the building blocks of life', but we won't get 'We've found aliens," tweeted Pope.
