Question of the Week: Could life exist in the universe beyond Earth?

By DUANE NOLLEN
The Oskaloosa Herald

OSKALOOSA August 04, 2008 10:09 am

— More people who answered this past week’s Question of the Week: Was this year’s Southern Iowa Fair better than last year’s? said NO.
Ten — 38.46 percent — answered YES while 16 — 61.54 percent — said NO.
The Question of the Week poll is not scientific and only reflects the opinions of those Internet users who have chosen to participate. The Question of the Week is just another way the Herald’s readers can voice their opinions about issues that affect them.
This week’s Question of the Week deals with the question of whether there is possibly life in the universe beyond the planet Earth.
The NASA Phoenix spacecraft has found frozen water on Mars, near the planet’s north pole, the Associated Press reported Thursday afternoon. The Phoenix landed in the Martian arctic on May 25 for a three-month excavation mission.
Phoenix had taken photos of a hard, splotchy area near its landing site for circumstantial evidence, but the lander found hard evidence of ice this past week. The AP reported that the lander heated up some ice it found and the chemical test confirmed the presence of ice near the Martian North Pole.
Water is one of the essential ingredients for life as we know it, and ice indicates that at one time in its past, Mars had water on its surface. This discovery follows the discovery on Earth back in the 1990s of a Martian meteorite found in Antarctica that many believed to contain fossilized remains of bacteria — proof of early Martian life.
If Mars could have supported life, could other parts of our galaxy or the universe be home to life?
What do you think?
This week’s Question of the Week: Could life exist in the universe beyond Earth?
YES or NO.
People can vote on The Herald’s Web site, oskaloosa.com, from Monday through noon on Friday. Then, votes will be tallied and published the following Monday.