As NASA faces significant budget cuts that are threatening key Mars missions – including the long-planned retrieval of rock and soil samples collected by the Perseverance rover – a startling claim is once again grabbing headlines. According to astrobiologist Barry DiGregorio, the space agency already possesses visual evidence of alien life on Mars, and is deliberately keeping it from the public.
DiGregorio, founding director of the International Committee Against Mars Sample Return (ICAMSR), argues that images taken by Perseverance in 2020 clearly show fossilized traces of ancient, worm-like life forms. “Wormy things, maybe fish, possibly jellyfish – really ancient type things that moved around,” he said in a recent interview.
He believes these organisms thrived on Mars long ago, before the planet's climate dramatically changed. “The atmosphere changed,” he explains, “and almost all of the water was either absorbed into the soil or evaporated due to solar wind.” The alleged result: the extinction of these primitive life forms, now possibly fossilized in Martian rock.
But it’s not just the existence of past Martian life that DiGregorio wants the world to acknowledge – it’s NASA’s handling of the discovery that concerns him most. He accuses the agency of a cover-up, claiming it is withholding this information to avoid public panic and political backlash. “These microbes could be dangerous to astronauts,” he warns, “and NASA doesn’t want people to start questioning the safety or purpose of manned missions, or to demand the cancellation of soil-return projects.”
NASA has not responded directly to these allegations, which have sparked renewed debate over planetary protection protocols. The idea of bringing extraterrestrial material back to Earth has long raised ethical and biological concerns among scientists – particularly over the possibility, however remote, of introducing unknown pathogens.
Despite growing uncertainty and financial constraints at NASA, enthusiasm for Mars exploration remains high. Many now look to the private sector, especially Elon Musk and his company SpaceX, as the most likely path forward. Musk continues to promote the vision of human settlement on Mars, regardless of the risks.
Whether Mars is a dead planet or the resting place of ancient life remains an open question. But if DiGregorio is right, we may already have the answers – and they’re buried in the red dust, waiting to be acknowledged.
Iffany, Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/illustrations/ai-generated-alien-ufo-sci-fi-9593363/
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