IPFS News Link • Space Travel and Exploration
Life on Mars Found by NASA's Viking Mission?
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com, Ker ThanA fresh look at NASA data suggests that a robotic mission uncovered microbial life on Mars—more than 30 years ago.
In 1976 NASA sent two space probes, Vikings 1 and 2, to Mars to determine whether life exists on the red planet. The probes carried three experiments specially designed for the task, one of which was called the Labeled Release (LR) apparatus.
The LR experiment worked by scooping up a bit of Martian soil and mixing it with a drop of water that contained nutrients and radioactive carbon atoms.
(Related: "Mars Soil Resembles Veggie-Garden Dirt, Lander Finds.")