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Search For Life On Mars?

November 09, 1998

ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS NOTICE
Date: 9 November 1998
For immediate release

Ref. PN 98/22

Issued by:
Peter Bond
RAS Space Science Advisor
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672
Fax: +44 (0)1483-274047
E-mail: 100604.1111@compuserve.com

www.ras.org.uk/ras/press/press.htm

The Search for Life on Mars?

The symposium will be held 09.30 - 17.15 in the BIS HQ at 27/29 South
Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ on Wednesday 11 November 1998. The
programme includes the following presentations:

* Dr. Julian Hiscox (Mariner Space Systems) : The Habitability of Mars.
There were many similarities between the environments on the early Earth
and early Mars. If life evolved on Earth during this period, what is the
possibility that life also took a toehold on Mars?

* Richard Taylor (Probability Research Group) : Life On Mars - A Historical
Perspective.
Our understanding of the Martian environment has changed dramatically as
new information has been returned by robotic spacecraft. The significance of
these missions, which culminated in the Mariner 9 and Viking projects, will be
reviewed.

* Prof. Michael Russell (University of Glasgow) : A Hydrothermal Origin Of
Life On Mars?
Recent discoveries show that lifeforms on Earth can obtain energy from many
different sources. Did Martian organisms evolve close to hot, hydrothermal
vents in an early Martian ocean more than 4 billion years ago?

* Dr. Don Cowan (University College, London) : Life In Extreme Thermal
Environments.
The study of organisms which can survive in extremely hot or cold
environments can provide pointers as to where to look for such habitats on Mars.

* Dr. David Wynn-Williams (British Antarctic Survey) : Antarctica As A
Model For Ancient Mars.
Mars is a cold world which has dried out over billions of years. Analogues
of the differing conditions on Mars can be found in Antarctica.

* Dr. Monica Grady (Natural History Museum, London) : The Search For Life
In ALH84001.
13 rocks from Mars have been blasted into space by impacts and found their
way to Earth as meteorites. Suggestions that one of these, ALH84001, may
contain evidence of primitive life continue to divide scientists. Where does the
debate currently stand?

* Prof. Howell Edwards (University of Bradford) : Raman Spectroscopy For
Exobiological Prospecting.
One technique for finding biological molecules on Mars is Raman
spectroscopy. How could this be used on robotic landers sent to search for Martian life?

* Dr. David Fearn (Defence Evaluation Research Agency) : Low Cost Ion
Propulsion.
The substantial cost of sending probes to Mars can be reduced by sending
smaller spacecraft equipped with innovative, low-cost technology such as
ion propulsion.

Notes for Editors.
Two years ago, a team of American scientists announced that they had
discovered strong evidence for the existence of primitive life on Mars in
meteorite ALH84001. Since then, the Mars Pathfinder has landed on the
planet and Mars Global Surveyor has begun to image the surface in unprecedented detail. Furthermore, the detection of at least a dozen planets orbiting distant stars has provided growing evidence that planetary systems are very common in our Galaxy. New generation instruments and space observatories, which may detect small, Earthlike planets suitable for the evolution of life as we know it, are already under development in Europe and the United States.

In order to bring together the necessary expertise to answer outstanding
questions about extraterrestrial life, UK scientists from many of the
traditional disciplines have recently joined to participate in a revolutionary new
scientific endeavour - the study of exobiology or life beyond Earth. The BIS symposium is a follow-up to the first UK Exobiology Workshop which was held in London on 14 September 1998.

A book entitled Life On Mars will be published next spring by the British
Interplanetary Society. The eight papers from the above symposium will be
included among the 15 chapters in the book.

For further information contact:
Shirley Jones,
Executive Secretary,
British Interplanetary Society,
27/29 South Lambeth Road,
London
SW8 1SZ
Tel: +44 (0)171-735-3160
Fax: +44 (0)171-820-1504
E-mail: bis.bis@virgin.net

or refer to the BIS web site at:
http://freespace.virgin.net/bis.bis/Bis.htm


Royal Astronomical Society (RAS)