Life on other

planets
Phương B Is there life on other worlds? If other planets can
support life chemically as we know it here on earth,
how does this relate to the origin of life itself?
 CONTENTS

Mars The scientist's Summary

assumptions
the search for
life on Mars
The search for life on Mars
Scientists have long speculated on the theory that life in its most primitive form may be the next
step in cosmic evolution after the formation of planets. While this is still only a theory, new ideas on
planetary origin and recent discoveries in chemistry have given it support.
for over half a century astronomers have observed slight seasonal color variations on the planet;
variations apparently coinciding with the availability of water. These have been interpreted as evidence
for plant life on Mars, life specifically adapted to the rigors of the Martian environment. If the reported
color changes are real, there seems to be no other reasonable interpretation.
 Gerard P. Kuiper, professor of astronomy at
Yerkes Observatory, has described how planets are
formed in this manner in recent years. In the
forming protoplanets, there would be a tendency for
the heavier elements to sink to the center, leaving
the much more abundant hydrogen and helium as
the principal constituents of the atmosphere
surrounding the new planets.

- constituent /kən
´stitjuənt/: phần tử, yếu tố
cấu tạo, thành phần
- protoplanet: một phôi
hành tinh lớn có nguồn
gốc từ một đĩa tiền hình
tinh,  hấp dẫn các quỹ đạo
của nhau và va chạm vào
nhau, dần dần hợp lại
thành các hành tinh thống
trị.
 In such a way, one can understand, generally, the atmospheres of the planets in this solar
system:

Mercury Not massive, close to the sun, retains negligible atmosphere.

Venus More massive than Mercury, further from the sun, retains
only the heavy gas, carbon dixode.

Although further from the sun, is less massive than Earth or

Mars Venus, and so retains principally only the heavy gas, carbon
dioxide.

Much further from the sun and very massive, they retain much
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, hydrogen and helium, while the other planets have lost theirs.
Neptune
- primitive /'primitiv/:
nguyên thủy
-variation /¸veəri´eiʃən/: sự
biến đổi, biến thể
- interpretation
/in,tə:pri'teiʃn/: Sự giải
thích, sự làm sáng tỏ
- extraterrestrial lifeforms:
các dạng sự sống ngoài trái
đất
Now,
proteins and nucleic acids have some
unusual properties; so far as we know, ones
not found in any other molecules. They can
form a new molecule which not only can
construct other identical molecules from
the matter floating in the sea around it, but
which if changed in some way can also
construct copies of its changed structure. - gravitational attraction:
Such a mutating, self-reproducing molecule lực hấp dẫn
or collection of molecules must undergo - molecule /´mɔli¸kju:l/:
natural selection. For these reasons, it must phân tử
be identified as the first living being on the - exhalations: sự bốc lên,
tỏa ra
planet in question.
- akin: na ná
 Thus, there may be 100 million planets in
this galaxy alone on which flourish organisms
at least biochemically akin to ourselves. On
the other hand, due to natural selection, these
organisms must be well adapted, each to its
own environment. Since even slight
differences in the environment eventually
cause extreme differences in the structure of
organisms, we should not accept
extraterrestrial lifeforms to resemble anything
familiar. But there is reason to believe they
are out there. MIT astronomer Sara Seager, is a
McArthur Genius Fellow and leader in the
scientific race to find another Earth in the
near future.