"Mushroom" On Mars: Is This A Sign Of Life On Red Planet?

NDTV

a day ago

An old image captured by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has resurfaced, intriguing people because of a peculiar object seen in it. The image was taken on September 19, 2013, but the fresh detail was recently spotted by Scott Waring, self-proclaimed UFO hunter. Highlighting a portion in the photo, Waring said he "found a mushroom". The details were soon picked up by social media users who also pointed out that a formation in the picture resembles a toadstool or a mushroom. From aliens to UFOs, people have a number of conspiracy theories, but the image has reignited the same old question: Is there life on Mars?
According to NASA, Curiosity took that image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), which is located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm.
Waring, in his blog post, claimed that he was looking through the NASA site and found a mushroom at the bottom centre of the photo. "I'm not sure how or why NASA could overlook such a thing...since NASA's mission it to find life on other planets and moons," he added.
He argued that the object has a curved bottom part of a stem, the same as those on Earth. The top is round, uneven and wrinkled.
"NASA should have poked it, bumped it, knocked it over, cut it open with their tools on Curiosity rover or at least use that million dollar laser they burn rocks and dirt with in many photos," Waring wrote.
Unlike Waring, another scientist has taken a different approach. Dr Gareth Dorrian, a planetary physicist from the University of Birmingham, said that the object is not a living organism, but looks like a flat, disc-shaped rock.
"My best guess would be they were not originally in that position, but like two rocks lying in the desert, one just below the surface and the other on the surface above it. Over time the wind could gradually blow the sand and dust away, and the top one would gradually settle onto the bottom one," Daily Mail quoted Dr Dorrian as saying.
Is there life on Mars?
The question of life on Mars is a complex one. While there's currently no definitive evidence of life on the Red Planet, scientists continue to explore the possibility. The Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars since 2012, discovering evidence of past water on Mars and studying the planet's geology.
NASA's Curiosity Rover has found organic molecules, which are building blocks of life, in Martian rocks. Methane has also been detected in the Martian atmosphere, which could be a sign of microbial life.
So far, there is no definitive evidence of life on Mars, however, ongoing and future missions will continue to explore the Red Planet's habitability and potential for life.