Russian biologists examining published photos of lunar regolith have
noticed that some particles are fossilized microorganisms. Stanislav
Zhmur and Lyudmila Gerasimenko made the discovery when they took a
careful new look at Moon material returned in the 1970s by missions
of the Soviet Union's unmanned Luna program. The analysis was first
published in December 1999, in the preceedings of an astrobiology
conference (1,2).
At the same conference, these biologists reported fossilized
microorganisms in carbonaceous meteorites, and on 27 January, the
Cosmic Ancestry website publicized that finding (3).
Today, no one doubts that the meteoritic fossils are biological.
But it turns out that meteorites can easily become contaminated
after contact with the ground, so mainstream science now suspects
that all fossilized microorganisms in meteorites are the remains
of recent contaminants.
The fossilized microorganisms from the Moon, however, were delivered
to Earth in sealed containers that were opened only in laboratories.
They can hardly be contaminants.
One striking circular fossil collected by Luna 16 bears an
unmistakable resemblance to modern spiral filamentous microorganisms
like Phormidium frigidum. Other particles returned by Luna 20 plainly
resemble fossils of modern coccoidal species like Siderococcus or
Sulfolobus. These fossils are solid evidence for ancient life beyond
planet Earth.
References:
1. Stanislav I. Zhmur and Lyudmila M. Gerasimenko. "Biomorphic forms in
carbonaceous meteorite Alliende and possible ecological system -
producer of organic matter chondrites" in _Instruments, Methods and
Missions for Astrobiology II_, Richard B. Hoover, Editor, Proceedings of
SPIE Vol. 3755 p. 48-58 (December 1999).
2. O.D. Rode, A.V. Ivanov, M.A. Nazarov, A. Cimbalnikova, K. Jurek and
V. Hejl. _Atlas of Photomicrographs of the Surface Structures of Lunar
Regolith Particles_, Prague, 1979.
3. "Fossilized Bacteria in Murchison and Efremovka," the Cosmic Ancestry
website, 27 January 2000.
* For the full story with photos and links to references, see
"Microorganisms from the Moon," at http://www.panspermia.org/zhmur2.htm
--
Brig Klyce * http://www.panspermia.org
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