Life on Mars?

On Monday , scientists said that the wheel that stopped turning on the NASA Mars rover Spirit has discovered evidence that there was once life on Mars. When the wheel stopped working back in March 2006, the Spirit had to drive backwards. While driving the scientists noticed a bright spot which they later found out was silica. Silica on earth can only be found near hot springs or a volcano. Both places are rich in life forms. After discovering the small spot of silica the scientists decided to break open a nearby rock. While trying to smash the rock, which withstood the blast, the rock nest to it which they names the "Innocent Bystander" cracked open revealing silicon all on the inside.

The Spirit's twin, Opportunity, explores the opposite side of Mars. It has discovered evidence of an environment once supplied by acidic groundwater. Spirit was chosen to land in a section called the Gusev Crater because from orbit, it looks as if a lake used to be there with river channels flowing away from it. But until the discovery of the silicon, every rock has been composed of volcanic basalt with very small traces of water. The Mars Global Surveyor has spotted from orbit years ago radical patterns of "spider" gullies like the picture above. The centers of the gullies were at the top of small hills and looked as if they were carved by something flowing upward which the scientists think was carbon dioxide.

In 1969 the United States sent the first person to land and walk on the moon. We have come so far. They have now discovered new planets and figuring out if there really is life on other planets. Russia sent the first people to outer space, but the U.S went above and beyond and sent a person on the moon.