November 21, 2019

Bugs on Mars?

Timothy Birdnow

Is there life on Mars? One entomologist thinks so.

From the article:

Dr. Romoser, who specializes in arbovirology and general/medical entomology, has spent several years studying photographs from the red planet that are available on the Internet. He found numerous examples of insect-like forms, structured similarly to bees, as well as reptile-like forms, both as fossils and living creatures. He presented his findings Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the national meeting of the Entomological Society of America in St. Louis, Missouri.

"There has been and still is life on Mars," Romoser said, noting that the images appear to show both fossilized and living creatures. "There is apparent diversity among the Martian insect-like fauna which display many features similar to Terran that are interpreted as advanced groups—for example, the presence of wings, wing flexion, agile gliding/flight, and variously structured leg elements."

Romoser said that while the Martian rovers, particularly the Curiosity Rover, have been looking for indicators of organic activity, there are a number of photos which clearly depict the insect- and reptile-like forms. Numerous photos show images where arthropod body segments, along with legs, antennae and wings, can be picked out from the surrounding area, and one even appears to show one of the insects in a steep dive before pulling up just before hitting the ground.

Somebody explain to me how insects develop wings on a planet where the atmosphere is 8 to 12/1000th as dense as Earth's at ground level (while the Martian atmosphere is one hundredth of Earth's it is more voluminous thanks to the lower gravity) where the temperature gradient moves from a high of 70* F. an inch above the ground to minus 70 just four feet above that? Any life on Mars would be burrowing, to avoid the cold, the dust storms, the dessicating air, and radiation from solar storms.

Also, I would like to know what they breath; the air on Mars is not only too thin to support life but it is ninety five percent carbon dioxide. Simple plant life, maybe, but insects? And, with no flora, what do these insects eat?

Well, he does address that last:

  • "The presence of higher metazoan organisms on Mars implies the presence of nutrient/
  • and processes, food chains and webs, and water as elements functioning in a viable, if extreme, ecological setting sufficient to sustain life," he said. "I have observed instances suggestive of standing water or small water courses with evident meander and with the expected blurring of small submerged rocks, larger emergent rocks at the atmosphere/water interface, a moist bank area, and a drier area beyond the moist area. Water on Mars has been reported a number of times, including surface water detected by instrumentation on Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, and Curiosity.
But we see no chemical evidence of this ecology. 

Now an arthropod would be a more logical body shape for such an environment; an exoskeleton would be absolutely necessary in the cold and near vacuum. I rather suspect a Martian insect to be rolly-polly shape to retain as much heat as possible. Not very mobile. Granted, they would need to be burrowers, like ants, so I suppose the purely round shape wouldn't work, but then neither would the elongated shapes he is theorizing about. The less body contact with the ground the better for these critters! They would need to be able to burrow deep, well below the "frost line" to survive. In fact, one would wonder why they would come outside at all; the surface would be terribly hostile to them.

Bear in mind too that arthropods are "only" 550 million years old. Life on Earth can be traced back further than that; the arthropods appeared on the scene after the Cambrian Explosion. Did Mars have such a thing? Earth had a warmer, sunnier climate to drive the Cambrian; Mars did not.

On Earth - a far more hospitable place - we have insects everywhere, but only one type in Antarctica. From Wikipedia:

The Antarctic is inhospitable to most insects. There is only one insect species that survives year round on Antarctica, the Chironomid Midge, Belgica antarctica. This tiny fly is only active during the Antarctic summer.

So, one hybernating insect in a place that is more habitable than Mars. Antarctica has lichens and algae, too, as well as adequate sun and a lot of ice. Mars is drier, colder, and has no obvious food source for any creatures.

Perhaps Mars has plant life using chemosynthesis underground, like mushrooms? Maybe. But a biosphere that does not include photosynthesis-using plants is going to be malnourished and would be very slow and not that complex. I doubt you could have ant like or wasp like creatures there. I suspect all life would be torpid and burrowing.

That said, this scientist is not a crank, or one would think not given his credentials. He worked for USAAMRID, the military's biological research arm. Of course, we now know getting a security clearance is no guarantee you have a stable or even smart person.

Still, it's fascinating, and he has collected a lot of photos from the Mars Rover. Check it out..


Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 10:13 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 861 words, total size 6 kb.

1 Almost surprised Mars doesn't have cockroaches. You know how tough those little darlings are. . .
All kidding aside, your points are good, and it would have been interesting to have been able to attend his presentation and see if anyone asked the same questions you bring up here. It sure does seem as if he's leaving some holes open.

Posted by: Dana Mathewson at November 21, 2019 10:41 AM (jDPtg)

2 Cockroaches and Democrats; both should be on Mars!  Dems would like Mars; it's red after all.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at November 21, 2019 12:08 PM (CUDar)

3 NASA ain't buyin' it.

""The collective general opinion of the large majority of the scientific community is that current conditions on the surface of Mars are not suitable for liquid water or complex life," Alana Johnson, NASA's Public Affairs Officer, said in a statement to Fox News." https://www.foxnews.com/science/nasa-denies-living-insect-reptile-like-creatures-on-mars

Of course, some might say NASA has a big horse in the race. But I think I would trust them now that they are freed-up from their Obama-era job as welcoming committee for Islam, and back to their original job.

Just sayin'

Posted by: Dana Mathewson at November 21, 2019 11:09 PM (BVVIY)

4 Veddy Eeeenterstink!  I would say NASA is probably being truthful here; they could get MORE funding the other way.

I'm not sure a lack of liquid water is necessarily a barrier to life forms. Perhaps Martian life can secrete chemicals to break down water ice into liquid form and use that. Not saying I believe it, but I don't think it impossible. Also, maybe there are underground aquifers with liquid water?  Not saying I believe in these bugs, but it's possible, in my view. The lack of oxygen and the lack of chlorophyll using plants as well as the low temperatures is what makes me think this is hooey.

But then, you never know.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at November 22, 2019 07:37 AM (IMBa5)

5 I would think that the only way to know for sure is to get soil samples back to Earth.

Posted by: Dana Mathewson at November 22, 2019 11:20 AM (05Pmo)

6 Agreed, Dana.  And that almost demands a manned mission.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at November 23, 2019 09:43 AM (vFfyV)

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