Methane has been found on Mars. Now the debate begins, is it biological or geological in nature? Maybe one day we will know for sure but now we take sides and present our cases. Scientists will throw out pros and cons on both sides. Religious authorities may get involved, possibly on both sides. Conspiracy theorists will claim cover ups. Black helicopters will be buzzing over area 51 and the face on Mars will wink at us through telescopes. I could do research and put up an argument for biology or geology. I’m not going to though. I’m just going to say that in my opinion it is biology. It’s proof that their was at one time life on Mars. Maybe there still is life there. I know that there was life on Mars.
Many of you may be wondering if I am wearing a tin foil helmet and about to claim I was abducted. Not quite. I’m not going to go so far as to claim that I am normal but I do manage to fit into society somewhat. I believe that somewhere in this big wide Universe life exists. Have they ever visited earth? I really can’t see why an advanced race would show in interest in us other than as a galactic soap opera and if they aren’t as advanced as us, how would they get here? Not only that how do they manage to go undetected by everyone except those who think that Elvis is still alive and shacking up with Bigfoot on Mt McKinley.
No I wont go so far as to say that aliens have visited us, but I will firmly state that I believe there was life on mars. Here’s my reason why. I want to believe. When I was a child it was easy to believe. Science was expanding our knowledge in leaps and bounds. Two years after I was born, man landed on the moon. The Universe seemed to be within reach. Plans were made to land on Mars. I grew up with the Space Shuttles. We would have colonies on the moon in our life time. Sky Lab would grow into a giant multinational space station where astronauts from all countries would live and work in peace. I grew up with Star Trek and Star Wars. One day I might actually step out of a space craft onto a alien world. I might shake hands with an ambassador from another galaxy.
Then it started to go wrong. The Space Shuttle disaster made us all realize just how far away space was and how vulnerable we were in the face of the galaxy. Suddenly for my generation the cost of going to space got a lot higher. Shuttle flights were halted and spending for NASA was drastically cut back. Then one day reality made a house call and space became an unattainable dream.
It really wasn’t that much, just an article in a scientific magazine. An article about colonization of space. I can’t remember all the details or who wrote the article, but I remember that line. The author stated that there was a real possibility that Titan could be colonized by 2100. Wow we could colonize another plant ( actually a moon) by 2100. Then I realized that by 2100 I would long be in my grave. Maybe that was the first time I ever thought about my own mortality, I’m not sure but I remember that pain I felt. I would never leave the solar system. I would never help colonize another planet. My only chance to meet an alien life form seemed to involve anal probes. I was devastated. This planet was all that I had and at times it can be a cruel place. There would be no escape to the stars for me.
I don’t dream about going to the stars anymore. With conditions here on Earth we may never again as a species set foot on the moon. Maybe we aren’t headed at high speed to a nuclear meltdown but we still seem eager to destroy ourselves. Maybe it’s best we don’t reach the stars and infect it with our madness. Still, I find myself looking up into the night sky and hoping. Hoping that there is someone out there. Hoping they will let themselves be known. Hoping the stories about anal probes aren’t real.
That s why when I hear that there is methane on Mars I celebrate just a little bit. When they tell me there was once water on Mars I smile. I know there is life in the Universe. I know we aren’t alone. I know that at one time people walked on the red planet and looked up at the same sky from a slightly different angle. Maybe they looked at this strange blue planet and wondered if there was life on it. It has to be true. I have to believe. Come on, God give me just this one thing.
