NASA scientists have been searching for extraterrestrial life for a long time. Moreover, the space agency has never denied this, and this is enough to discuss the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial beings outside the Earth in any form, from micro to macro.

The controversy arose when a couple of years ago, retired NASA Chief Scientist James L. Green spoke about Mars and the alleged extraterrestrial life on it.

Before moving on to Dr. Green’s statement, it should be known that NASA has acknowledged that there may be interference from alien civilizations in the history of the Earth. In 2014, NASA published a book titled Archeology, Anthropology and Interstellar Space which looks at extraterrestrial interference in human history. It notes the possibility that some of the rock art on Earth may be of alien origin. It was edited by Douglas Wakoh, director of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Division.

Also, in fact, it would take only 10,000 years for the traces of human presence to disappear from the planet, which is very short period compared to the age of the Earth.

If such a civilization had once existed, then its traces would not be so obvious – given that more than 4 billion years of the Earth is a sufficiently wide range for the evolution (and extinction) of intelligent life.

In 2019, retired NASA Chief Science Officer Dr. Jim Green made several statements that caused a lot of controversy. The expert believes that, most likely, the European Space Agency (ESA) has already discovered evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. The fact is, Dr. Green is convinced, that humanity is simply not ready for such information.

Jim Green, NASA Chief Scientist. Image credit: NASA

In the summer of 2020, two rovers from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) traveled to Mars to perform horizontal drilling in rock, hoping to find evidence of living organisms.

He assured that evidence of extraterrestrial existence on Mars was obtained, at the latest, in mid-2021. However, it will take humanity much longer to come to terms with the fact that life still exists outside the Earth.

Has Perseverance found life on the surface of Mars?

NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently exploring two very different geological sites at the bottom of Jezero Crater since it landed on February 18, 2021. The rover has found new evidence of ancient hot magma and water. He also discovered ancient organic molecules preserved in rocks and dust.

The Perseverance rover used the Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument to detect them. Organic matter is an intriguing discovery as they are the building blocks of life.

However, both biological and non-biological processes can create organics. Whether these particular organic substances come from once-living organisms or not is something that scientists have yet to determine. In addition, this is not the first time that the rover has detected organic matter on Mars.

Has NASA already found aliens on Mars?

Before the launch, Dr Green said: These missions are humanity’s best chance ever to answer the question: “Are we alone in the universe?” Jim Green was instrumental in both missions. He added that “there is a real possibility that one or both will be successful.”

However, this will have far-reaching consequences, and he believes that the Earth is not ready for them.

“It will be a revolution. This will start a whole new way of thinking. I don’t think we are ready for such results,” Green said.

A study published in 2020 shows that planets previously thought to be uninhabitable may once have had suitable conditions for life. Researchers have discovered the chemical phosphine in the dense atmosphere of Venus.

After careful analysis, scientists argue that the only explanation for the source of the chemical is something alive.

Dr. Green said one of the promising signs of life on Mars is that every summer on the planet, the amount of methane present on the surface increases dramatically. The Curiosity rover on Mars also detected molecular oxygen, which increases by up to 30 percent each spring and summer before falling again in the fall.

“It tells us that life can be deep below the surface in the summer. The heat of the soil and therefore is weakened so that the methane can seep out. We have all sorts of indirect observations that perhaps there is microbial life on Mars too,” he explained.

It is likely that life on Mars and Venus can still be sustained underground, and in order to make the surface habitable, Dr. Green proposed terraforming both planets.

He said it was possible to terraform Mars by placing a giant magnetic shield between the planet and the sun, which would prevent the Sun from stripping it of its atmosphere, allowing the planet to trap more heat and warm the climate to make it habitable.