posted 12-20-2020 10:08 AM               

Space Cover #590: Life "Found" On Mars (?)

On August 6, 1996, nine scientists announced that they had most probably discovered proof of ancient life on Mars. The primary team of scientists consisted of David S. McKay, a planetary biologist at Johnson Space Center who led the research, Everett K Gibson, also from JSC, and Kathie L. Thomas Kepta, a Lockheed Martin researcher assigned to JSC. I had learned that they would be giving a presentation at JSC and obtained a pass before driving the 240 miles from my home to the center to listen to them.

The team, along with several Stanford University researchers, believed that a piece of Mars discovered in Antarctica in 1984, contained chemical and fossil evidence that primitive single-cell life might have existed on Mars about 3.6 billion years ago. A microscopic view of their discovery is shown on, what I believe to be, an unissued souvenir sheet from Guyana (northern South America).

Almost immediately after the press release skeptics were reported in SpaceNews. John Kerridge, a planetary scientist at the University of California at San Diego was quoted as saying, "There are very plausible, but non-biological activity in Mars' past, that could have produced all the phenomenon they have observed." This was very soon proven to be true and my guess is that these sheets were never released as a result. (If anyone wants to buy one of these sheets, I have a few extra for $2 and an SASE.)

The three scientists mentioned above signed this cover for me. It bears a TRW meter cancel from Redondo Beach, CA and an official Mars Viking Lander cachet. The cancel date of August 8, 1976 is for the day after Viking 2 entered Mars orbit and was being readied for traveling to the Mars surface. The question, "Is there life on Mars?" seemed to be a perfect tie-in.