IP: Mars Statements

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 122: August 9, 1996


Administration Statements on Martian Meteorite Announcement       


President Clinton, NASA Administration Daniel Goldin, and NSF
Director Neal Lane issued statements following this week's
announcement of possible early Martian life.  Their statements
describe the importance of federal funding for science, as well as
indications about the future direction of research:


PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON:


"I'm glad to be joined by my science and technology adviser, Dr.
Jack Gibbons, to make a few comments about today's announcement by
NASA.


"This is the product of years of exploration and months of
intensive study by some of the world's most distinguished
scientists.  Like all discoveries, this one will and should
continue to be reviewed, examined and scrutinized.  It must be
confirmed by other scientists.  But clearly, the fact that
something of this magnitude is being explored is another
vindication of America's space program and our continuing support
for it, even in these tough financial times.  I am determined that
the American space program will put its full intellectual power and
technological prowess behind the search for further evidence of
life on Mars.


"First, I have asked Administrator Goldin to ensure that this
finding is subject to a methodical process of further peer review
and validation.  Second, I have asked the Vice President to convene
at the White House before the end of the year a bipartisan space
summit on the future of America's space program.  A significant
purpose of this summit will be to discuss how America should pursue
answers to the scientific questions raised by this finding.  Third,
we are committed to the aggressive plan we have put in place for
robotic exploration of Mars.  America's next unmanned mission to
Mars is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in
November.  It will be followed by a second mission in December.  I
should tell you that the first mission is scheduled to land on Mars
on July the 4th, 1997 -- Independence Day.


"It is well worth contemplating how we reached this moment of
discovery.  More than 4 billion years ago this piece of rock was
formed as a part of the original crust of Mars.  After billions of
years it broke from the surface and began a 16 million year journey
through space that would end here on Earth.  It arrived in a meteor
shower 13,000 years ago.  And in 1984 an American scientist on an
annual U.S. government mission to search for meteors on Antarctica
picked it up and took it to be studied.  Appropriately, it was the
first rock to be picked up that year -- rock number 84001.


"Today, rock 84001 speaks to us across all those billions of years
and millions of miles.  It speaks of the possibility of life.  If
this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most
stunning insights into our universe that science has ever
uncovered.  Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring
as can be imagined.  Even as it promises answers to some of our
oldest questions, it poses still others even more fundamental.


"We will continue to listen closely to what it has to say as we
continue the search for answers and for knowledge that is as old as
humanity itself but essential to our people's future."


NASA ADMINISTRATOR DANIEL GOLDIN:


"NASA has made a startling discovery that points to the possibility
that a primitive form of microscopic life may have existed on Mars
more than three billion years ago.  The research is based on a
sophisticated examination of an ancient Martian meteorite that
landed on Earth some 13,000 years ago.


"The evidence is exciting, even compelling, but not conclusive.  It
is a discovery that demands further scientific investigation.  NASA
is ready to assist the process of rigorous scientific investigation
and lively scientific debate that will follow this discovery.


"I want everyone to understand that we are not talking about
'little green men.'  These are extremely small, single-cell
structures that somewhat resemble bacteria on Earth.  There is no
evidence or suggestion that any higher life form ever existed on
Mars.


"The NASA scientists and researchers who made this discovery will
be available at a news conference tomorrow to discuss their
findings.  They will outline the step-by-step "detective story"
that explains how the meteorite arrived here from Mars, and how
they set about looking for evidence of long-ago life in this
ancient rock.  They will also release some fascinating images
documenting their research."


NSF DIRECTOR NEAL LANE:


"Today's announcement of scientific evidence for possible early
life on Mars reignites the excitement of discovery and pioneering
spirit which motivates all science, and reinforces the need to
continue our national investment in scientific research.


"The 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite which offers this unprecedented
potential for new scientific knowledge was found in Antarctica
during an ongoing National Science Foundation research project.  It
is ironic that we found signposts to possible life outside of earth
by searching in the most remote location on earth.  Antarctica is
`the mother lode' of meteorites, and has yielded more than 16,000
meteorites so far -- close to one-half of the world's scientific
samples. The annual hunt for Antarctic meteorites is like a
bargain-priced space mission that lets scientists explore
extraterrestrial worlds without leaving their home planet. 
Occasionally one of the samples evolves into a treasure of new
knowledge that reveals itself slowly and gradually, through
scientific scrutiny.  In the case of the meteorite discussed today,
it was only by using the most recent and advanced scientific
equipment that researchers were able to begin to unlock its
mysteries.  The NSF-funded science team which discovered the
meteorite -- led by researchers Bill Cassidy and John Schutt of the
University of Pittsburgh -- were not even focused on the
implications of organic life on other planets when they plucked the
now-famous space rock from the frozen continent in 1984.


"In spite of the many impressive scientific advances that seem to
occur at an ever faster pace, there is still so much we don't know
about our universe and the life it holds. The results announced
today are not definitive, as the research team itself points out. 
Rigorous science will continue to unfold the nature and origins of
life, whether on earth or elsewhere in the universe.


"We live in a golden age of science, which we hope will continue to
unlock the secrets of the unknown for the benefit of all
humankind."


###############
Richard M. Jones
Public Information Division
American Institute of Physics
fyi () aip org
(301) 209-3095
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