"Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001" in Science.

David S. McKay et al.

Published by AAAS, 1996

About this Item

David S. McKay et al., "Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001" in Science, 16 August 1996, vol 273, pp 924-930 in the issue of pp 841-1016. Original wrappers. FINE copy. [++] "Fresh fracture surfaces of the martian meteorite ALH84001 contain abundant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These fresh fracture surfaces also display carbonate globules. Contamination studies suggest that the PAHs are indigenous to the meteorite. High-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy study of surface textures and internal structures of selected carbonate globules show that the globules contain fine-grained, secondary phases of single-domain magnetite and iron sulfides. The carbonate globules are similar in texture and size to some terrestrial bacterially induced carbonate precipitates. Although inorganic formation is possible, formation of the globules by biogenic processes could explain many of the observed features, including the PAHs. The PAHs, the carbonate globules, and their associated secondary mineral phases and textures could thus be fossil remains of a past martian biota. "--Abstract 2300 citations. [++] "Today, a team of NASA scientists is announcing that they have determined that small magnetite crystals in the now-famous ALH84001 Martian meteorite were almost certainly produced by living organisms organisms that must have lived on Mars. The results of this research will be published in the 27 February 2001 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The ALH84001 meteorite is the same sample wherein scientists at NASA s Johnson Space Center in Houston first announced in 1996 [in the paper offered here] that they had found evidence of possible past life on Mars. This meteorite was blown off of Mars millions of years ago by a large impact event and circled the sun until hitting the Earth 13,000 years ago. It then lay undisturbed in near-pristine condition in the Antarctic until collected by meteorite hunters."--SpaceRef [++] "In recent years, McKay was perhaps best known for being the first author of a scientific paper postulating past life on Mars [in the paper offered here] on the basis of evidence in martian meteorite ALH 84001. This paper has become one of the most heavily cited papers in planetary science."--from Dr. McKay's obituary on the NASA site [++] In August 1996 [in the paper offered here] McKay announced that the meteorite had yielded evidence indicating that primitive life may have existed on Mars. The news came only weeks after the 20th anniversary of the first Viking landing on Mars, which had concluded that the planet was sterile. While the publication of these findings in the journal Science generated a flurry of debate, McKay stressed that the findings were not definitive proof and that further research was planned. His subsequent work uncovered similarities between compounds known to be of biological origin (and found in Earth rocks dating from the Cambrian Period and the Proterozoic Eon) and those found in Martian meteorites."--Britannica.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1721910987154

Bibliographic Details

• Title: "Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001" in Science.
• Publisher: AAAS
• Publication Date: 1996
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Fine
• Weight: 1 pound
• Seller catalogs:
  • Astrophysics