Finding life on Mars has been of particular interest to astronomers due to its proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no living proof has been found of an extraterrestrial race of past or present nature. However, the planet’s atmosphere makes it a prime candidate for harbouring similar lifeforms, it was revealed.
Colin Pillinger, who was Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Open University until he passed away in 2014, revealed during a BBC Radio 4 show that he does not believe human beings are the “pinnacle” of life.
He said during the 2007 “In Our Time” podcast: “Are we alone? Is life on Earth unique? I think it would be terribly arrogant to believe this is the pinnacle of evolution.
“The elements that make up life: Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Oxygen are four of the five most abundant elements in the universe.
“Hydrogen is actually the most abundant and Oxygen the third.
“When these two come together they actually explosively combine to create water – the most fundamental compound.”
Mr Pillinger went on to reveal how Mars has all the basic needs to support life.
He continued: “So you have all the ingredients to a primordial soup here [fundamental aspects to life].
“So if you think logically about that, if we found somewhere close to us like Mars where life had evolved we would have something to compare it to.
“Then maybe we could understand how life started.
“And if we do find traces of life on Mars, we don’t know if it formed independently or came from Earth.”
The search for life on Mars was boosted last week after the European Space Agency revealed it had found proof of ancient rivers.
Finding water has previously been dubbed as the “Holy Grail” of discoveries for scientists.
However, Mr Pillinger also warned of “rampant infections” that could be spread from Mars.