ALH84001 Picture Gallery
NASA says these magnified forms are likely Martian microfossils.
Magnified images of the forms found in the meteorite.
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Photomicrograph of intact carbonate globules
on the martian meteorite ALH84001 (© NASA)
S96-12301 - In the center of this electron microscope
image of a small chip from a meteorite are several tiny structures that are possible
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.
S96-12299
- 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.
S96-12298
- This electron microscope image shows extremely tiny tubular structures that are possible
microscopic fossils of 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. The fossil-like structures were found in carbonate
minerals formed along pre-existing fractures in the meteorite in a fashion similar to the
way fossils occur in limestone on Earth, although on a microscopic scale.
S96-12297 - This electron microscope image shows
egg-shaped structures, some of which may be possible microscopic fossils of Martian origin
as discussed by NASA research published in the Aug. 16, 1996, issue of the journal
Science. A two-year investigation 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.
S96-12300 - This electron microscope image
shows tubular structures of likely Martian origin. These structures are very similar in
size and shape to extremely tiny microfossils found in some Earth rocks. This photograph
is part of a report by a NASA research team published in the Aug. 16, 1996, issue of the
journal Science. A two-year investigation by the 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.
S96-12609&
S96-12610- This high-resolution scanning electron microscope image shows an
unusual tube-like structural form that is less than 1/100th the width of a human hair in
size found in meteorite ALH84001, a meteorite believed to be of Martian origin. Although
this structure is not part of the research published in the Aug. 16 issue of the journal
Science, it is located in a similar carbonate glob in the meteorite. This structure will
be the subject of future investigations that could confirm whether or not it is fossil
evidence of primitive life on Mars 3.6 billion years ago.
S94-032549
- This 4.5 billion-year-old rock, labeled meteorite ALH84001, is believed to have once
been a part of Mars and to contain fossil evidence that primitive life may have existed on
Mars more than 3.6 billion years ago. The rock is a portion of a meteorite that was
dislodged from Mars by a huge impact about 16 million years ago and that fell to Earth in
Antarctica 13,000 years ago. The meteorite was found in Allan Hills ice field, Antarctica,
by an annual expedition of the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Meteorite Program
in 1984. It is preserved for study at the Johnson Space Center's Meteorite Processing
Laboratory in Houston.
S95-00690
- This photograph shows orange-colored carbonate mineral globules found in a
meteorite, called ALH84001, believed to have once been a part of Mars. These carbonate
minerals in the meteorite are believed to have been formed on Mars more than 3.6 billion
years ago. Their structure and chemistry suggest that they may have been formed with the
assistance of primitive, bacteria-like living organisms. A two-year investigation by a
NASA research team found organic molecules, mineral features characteristic of biological
activity and possible microscopic fossils inside of carbonate minerals such as these in
the meteorite.