The first comet landing

By Anya Stacey

On the 12^th of November the first space probe ever landed on a comet, this comet was called Rosetta.

Comets are huge lumps of rock that orbit planets such as earth.  Scientists wanted to explore the comets in more detail than we already have.

This programme has been going on for a very long time and finally a space probe landed. As the space probe landed, the probe projected its landing gears into the nucleus of the comet to keep it attached, however, various reports have said that the probe is already starting to detach.

So, big space programming companies like NASA are getting involved in this operation.

Scientists are excited to find new discoveries such as the elements that the comet contains, and what dangers it could bring to Earth as life goes on.

The space probe will project and take various pictures of the comets surface and maybe even look for bacterial life’s existence, however scientists highly doubt that.

Currently scientists believe that comets are spare or stranded lumps of rock that were left over after the Big Bang was caused, but looking into even more detail can always make new discoveries.

Let’s hope for exciting new discoveries after this overwhelming news!

 

 

Are we alone?

By Olivia Haigh

Since the beginning of time, we have been told about extraterrestrial life such as life on Mars, yet still we haven’t had proof, until now. For centuries, we humans have inhabited the Earth and made it the place we call home. Now, evidence of possible life on Mars has created an even bigger debate for scientists. The real question is, are we alone?

There is a possibility that there are microbes living on Mars. “There is also a possibility that life began on Mars,” stated Professor Brian Cox at a recent STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) day in Lincoln.

Wherever there is water, there are microbes, living forms that could possibly evolve, giving us a new form of life. Probes will be sent to Mars on a new mission to look for underground water. “There is a chance that there is water under the surface of Mars and wherever there is water, like on earth, there will most probably be some sort of life forms,” added Professor Cox.

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirits and Opportunity, are exploring Mars. It began in 2003 and they are there in order to look at the surface and geology. Evidence of a thigh bone was found, meaning this could lead to proof that life began on Mars and possible evidence of dinosaurs.

But why aliens? Why not another form of human being? Think about the word alien, the dictionary definition is ‘belonging to a foreign country’. What’s the first thing you think of when you say alien? We all seem to picture a short green blob with one eye, but what could they really look like? What if we are living amongst aliens, but we don’t notice because we all look exactly the same? Turn to the person next to you; do you know for sure that they’re from Earth? Are we really alone?