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PHOTO INDEX OF PRIMARY TARGETS ASTEROIDS COMETS EARTH JUPITER KUIPER BELT MARS MERCURY METEORITES NEPTUNE OORT CLOUD PLUTO SATURN SOLAR SYSTEM SPACE SUN URANUS VENUS ORDER PRINTS OTHER PHOTO INDEXES ALL TARGETS PHOTO CATEGORIES SCIENCEVIEWS AMPHIBIANS BIRDS BUGS FINE ART FOSSILS INDIAN INDIAN MAMMALS OTHER PARKS PLANTS RELIGIOUS REPTILES ROCKS & MINERALS SCIENCEVIEWS PRINTS

Mars Life? - Microscopic Tube-like Structures Target Name:   Martian Meteorite Produced by:   NASA Copyright:  NASA Copyright Free Policy Download Options Name Type Width x Height Size s12299.jpg JPEG 712 x 484 127K s12299.tif TIFF 712 x 484 336K This electron microscope image is a close-up of the center part of photo number S96-12301. While the exact nature of these tube-like structures is not known, one interpretation is that they may be microscopic fossils of primitive, bacteria-like organisms that may have lived on Mars more than 3.6 billion years ago. A two-year investigation by a NASA research team found organic molecules, mineral features characteristic of biological activity and possible microscopic fossils such as these inside of an ancient Martian rock that fell to Earth as a meteorite. The largest possible fossils are less than 1/100th the diameter of a human hair in size while most are ten times smaller.

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