Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Why should we expect life to start with water everywhere in the universe?

I recently (September 2008) watched a TV special on ABC on UFO’s. The presenter referred to the findings of NASA’s Phoenix Lander which is the robot that landed on Mars on May 2008 (after being launched on August 2007). On June 19, 2008 NASA announced that Phoenix had found “clumps of bright material which had vaporized over the course of four days”. Of course our earthy minds concluded that was water ice and consequently we started hearing and reading from TV channels and Newspapers that Life could have or may have developed on the Red Planet. There certainly nothing new with that statement. Actually anybody who studied the basics of Science will tell you that that is one of the fundamental rules of Life as we know it. Personally, I have been reading and hearing that ever since my passion for the universe of planets and stars started thirty years ago. But this time, after watching the TV program, something struck my mind. That statement which consists of saying that life could only develop where water exists, simply did not go through my brain as it always did all these years. Something in my mind made me wonder what if that was NOT true. What if that scientific truth was false?
Why should water be associated with Life in all over the Universe? Why should that earthy rule be applied to the conglomerate of planets of the solar system?
It might be true for our tiny little marble on which we live and weigh the whole Universe and countless galaxies it is made of; but do we have a reason to expend that truth beyond our planet?
The more I ponder over that more questions rise in my mind and I can’t help wondering what if all or most of what we know about the universe was untrue. After all, most of what is written on the other planets is nothing but pure speculations. We have only visited the moon. All the descriptions, data, were made from the observations and theories that are applicable to the realities of planet Earth; from the forces, energies, materials available on Earth. They are probably out there on the soil of the other planets other type of materials, energies, mechanisms that we absolutely have no idea.
Maybe the so called UFO’s are flown but beings that are made of gas, material we know nothing about. All that we seem to know is that they could be made by very intelligent beings, with highly sophisticated technologies, that use none of the energies we have domesticated. Ever since we’ve hearing testimonies confirming the true existence of UFO not one single scientist has been able to explain that phenomenon. Despite the pictures, video, testimonies… some still believe UFO’s are just a creation of our mind. If scientists are unable to explain what’s happening in our own backyards, why should I believe what they say about Venus, Uranus, Saturn…? Why should I believe the books telling me ‘facts’ that are made on the basis of speculations?
If my questions should challenge the foundations of modern science, then why no one ever thought about that, about that simple elementary question about water and life.
What would that mean for all the theories, books, space programs, spacecrafts… developed on the basis of that untrue fact?
I am not dreaming, I am just trying to ease my mind as I always did whenever a question should remain with no answer.

Daouda NDAO
September 25, 2008 – 12:00 pm
Union Station, Washington, DC.