Mars mission raises queries, hopes

BANGALORE: Knock knock! Is anybody out there? Are we expecting little green men to respond to this cosmic call with a ''yes'' in strange coded language, Hollywood style? Or are we to let our imagination rest and believe scientists and Mars probes that assure us we''ll only find microbes and simple organisms?
Images of Mars'' red mottled surface spread across newspapers gret us every morning.Will we soon have one of us in the forefront of the picture flashing a victorious `V'' for cameras as the first Mars Settlers with an earth-like artificial biosphere for a background?
Setting up giant ears with the exciting thought that we co-exist with fellow living beings on other planets who will eventually communicate with us, probing foreign soil and atmosphere for our quintessential air, water and minerals, hoping to find newer grounds where we can settle in --the human tendency for company and expansion has never had better backing, with Spirit roving all over Mars, raising hopes and expectations.
Scientific opinion too is gathering momentum; with speculation and observation looking for proof. They are not unwilling to believe that we could be colonising Mars. But do they, who will not beleieve without evidence and scan everything with a scientific temper, have reason to believe there''s anybody out there?
``To begin with, it''s important to be clear as to what exactly we mean by ''out there''. Given the available instruments and technology, we have evidence of at least one hundred other solar systems in our galaxy, with planets orbiting stars," says T Padmanabhan, Professor and Dean of Core Academic Programmes, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune.
``But our ability to detect small, earth-sized planets is rather limited. While the bigger, Jupiter-sized planets which we have discovered may not be conducive to life as we now know it, the chances of it being on smaller planets is very high indeed. It''s only a question of time before we get definitive evidence."
Scientists are also hopeful that future missions will add to existing knowledge, and give us a clearer picture. Confirmation is believing. Prof C.Sivaram, chairman, Theory Group, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, and author of the book `Introduction to Astrobiology'' says: ``As of now, there is no evidence of life, either on Mars or elsewhere in space. But there are several space missions scheduled in the near future which will help us form a definite opinion. Rover Spirit has already landed on the Martian surface and is sending back photographs. One of its objectives is to look for traces of water. Later this month, Opportunity is slated to land on the opposite side and it will look for iron oxides trapped in the surface. Together, these will provide us some evidence of whether this planet had oxygen and water, both crucial elements for life to exist. Also, the ExoMars project in 2009 and the mission in 2011 are scheduled to bring back soil. Based on the findings of these missions, the decision to colonise the red planet could be taken."
"There is some tentative evidence of water on Mars and perhaps bacteria-like forms will be detected on Mars. Again, we should get confirmation, one way or another, very shortly. As far as settlements on Mars are concerned, they are very much on the cards. With plans on the lines of NASA, one is looking at artificial biospheres with a environment which simulates Earth-like conditions. These are likely to be offshoots of new technologies which will make all this possible," says Padmanabhan.
But its not just Mars or the Moon we are looking at. "Looking further beyond, Saturn''s moon Titan is considered promising in terms of supporting life -- it''s methane-rich atmosphere is twice as dense as that of the Earth. The Cassini mission is expected to reach Saturn in July 2004 and will send down then the Huygens probe to land on Titan in 2005. Also, two moons of Jupiter -- Europa and Ganymede -- are being viewed with hope. A space probe to Europa is also being planned. The total volume of water beneath Europa''s surface is expected to much more than the total volume of the Earth''s oceans," says Sivaram.
India may be trailing behind on planetary missions. But resources are a great constraint. The Moon Mission to take off in 2008 will pave way for future planetary missions, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has always said. Secretary of India''s space department and ISRO chairman G.Madhavan Nair says: ``Space in India is being used for development -- with our earth observation and communication satellites launched with resources available. At the same time, from the beginning, a small fraction of our budget has been reserved for an astronomical payload. We are now giving shape to `Astrosat'' that will concentrate on astronomical studies. We need to concentrate first on the essential neds of the country." Nair also says that planetary missions like the Mars Mission need motivation -- of perhaps finding useful minerals.
"It would be surprising if life is not found elsewhere. Even more surprising if it is found in the same form as we know it here," says Prof. Dipankar Home, currently Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow, Bose Institute, Kolkata. "After all, we are so small in the larger scale of evolution. The universe is much more complicated than we can imagine. We can only make educated guesses of varying degrees and add to our knowledge. The Voyager and other space lab experiments are opening up new ideas and opportunities. They are also breaking down barriers between various branches of science and bringing them together intimately as never before."
Prof U R Rao, fomer chairman of India''s Space Commission and chairman of Physical Research Laboratory Council, Ahmedabad clearly distinguishes at what we are looking for. ``There''s life and then there''s intelligent life. There could be life. We are still not sure and initial evidence on Mars has not been very positive. But since there is water, there could be some rudimentary life forms. We think that there must be life somewhere else. There may be many more planetary systems like our Sun''s. Nearly 60 per cent of stars are like the Sun -- not very hot or cold. If the orbit and temperature are conducive, existance of life is possible. But if there is life on other plantary systems, they must be advanced civilisations too. They must also be thinking like us. The only way to communicate is through radio signals. But we don''t know where they are and we have to look everywhere. When the first pulsars were discovered, in fact, they were mistaken for signals from outside and labelled LGM for Little Green Men! Setting up base on Mars is not an issue of technology, but money. ``If we can land spacecraft, we can land men. Next we need to set up a habitat with gravity and an oxygen-rich atmosphere, which is an expensive affair.''
But its a tight rope walk. Scientists are cautious of Mission Accomplished. And of what that is which is accomplished and its accompanying sensationalism. Dipankar Home almost warns:
``In the culture of science, the point is not so much as to pocket the truth as much as to chase it. The cultural and philosophical aspects of the pursuit are more interesting.
Ultimately, in the course of space exploration, it''s not whether we find life elsewhere or not, it''s the strong symbiosis of basic science and technology and their interplay which are invaluable. While the success of missions, such as the recent one to Mars, should not be undermined, it is important that they do not fall victim to sensationalism and unsubstantiated facts. Whatever claims are made in the course of space missions, a lot of time is needed to ascertain the facts."