A lawmaker asked a scientist if there was ever a civilization on Mars
It's not just internet trolls who are obsessed with aliens. Apparently congressmen are too.
During a hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Tuesday, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher managed to baffle and amaze when he asked about life on Mars.
And no, we're not talking microbial life -- something that NASA is hoping to hunt for with future missions to Mars. We're talking full-blown civilizations.
SEE ALSO:It's not aliens. It's never aliens. Stop saying it's aliens."You have indicated that Mars had a, was totally different thousands of years ago," the California congressman said, addressing a panel of space science experts.
"Is it possible that there was a civilization on Mars thousands of years ago?"
Credit: NASA/KSCEver the trooper, Kenneth Farley -- NASA Mars 2020 rover project scientist -- had to start off his answer by correcting Rohrabacher's question.
"So, the evidence is that Mars was different billions of years ago, not thousands of years ago," Farley said.
He also added that "there is no evidence that I'm aware of --" before the congressman cut him off, refining his original question.
"Would you rule that out? That -- see, there are some people -- well, anyway," Rohrabacher said.
Farley answered: "I would say that is extremely unlikely."
Via GiphyThis whole exchange is kind of beautiful. You have a congressman with a penchant for some off-kilter ideas asking a straight-ahead scientist about alien civilizations on Mars.
Also, Rohrabacher even starts talking about "some people" as evidence for his thoughts about civilizations on Mars. Who are these people? Can they be trusted? (Probably not.)
The exchange takes place one hour and 25 minutes into the video below.
Rohrabacher's question is somewhat grounded in reality, at least.
Mars was a far warmer and wetter place billions of years ago than it is today. The red planet appears to have had liquid water on its surface -- making it a possible home for microbial life -- before it lost its atmosphere to space.
That doesn't mean there was any kind of civilization on Mars, however. Multiple rovers and orbiters that have explored the planet have found no evidence of past intelligent life on the world. (I mean, you'd think that Martians would have at least left behind some buildings or something.)
Via GiphyFunny enough, scientists in the 1800s thought there were artificially-made canals on Mars because of a mistranslation of one of Giovanni Schiaparelli's works.
The Italian astronomer called channels on the red planet "canali," which means "channel." However, that was mistranslated to "canal" in English, which implies that they were built by intelligent life, according to NASA.
From there, the myth of the intelligent Martian took off, especially after Percival Lowell observed and mapped the "canals," which he believed were carved into the landscape by smart aliens, in the late 1800s.
Of course, scientists know that isn't the case today, yet still, sometimes they just need to debunk it for a congressman.
Featured Video For You
Neil deGrasse Tyson on why Titan is his favorite moon
(责任编辑:关于我们)
- AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 may get revealed at the Apple September event
- Motorola mocks Samsung's ad mocking Apple
- A man's epic tumble on live TV is the election relief we all needed
- Spurs sink West Ham to bolster top
- Unionized hospital workers pull out from strike
- Arshad Nadeem receives Hilal
- Matsuyama nervous at joining Masters champions club
- Korean scholar's wages to be seized over wartime sex slaves dispute
- Pakistan reportedly blocks Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube amid protest crackdowns
- Slot extends perfect Liverpool start
- The Walmart yodel boy actually performed at Coachella, and we can't believe it either
- Moon, Trump discuss 'corresponding measures' for NK denuclearization
- Sunderland struggling to recapture glories
-
We Asked GPT Some Tech Questions, Can You Tell Which Answers Are Human?
ChatGPT and its wordsmith capabilities are all over the news, and for good reason. The large languag ...[详细] -
College student nabbed over Facebook threat against Park
A college student was apprehended Wednesday on suspicion of threatening President Park Geun-hye with ...[详细] -
Masters lists Mickelson among those not playing in April
WASHINGTON:Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson will not play in next month's Masters, missing ...[详细] -
'Bachelor in Paradise' is under fire for queerbaiting viewers
Viewers are not happy with Australia's version of Bachelor In Paradise, calling out the show for que ...[详细] -
Which iPad Model Is Right for You?
With class-leading hardware and optimized software, the Apple iPad line has long been the default ta ...[详细] -
Korean scholar's wages to be seized over wartime sex slaves dispute
A local court has ordered a South Korean scholar's wages be partly seized, following another court's ...[详细] -
雅安日报讯 为了弘扬革命老区精神,加快雨城区经济社会的发展,7日,雨城区革命老区建设促进会以下简称老促会)成立。省委老领导、省老促会会长冯元蔚,市人大常委会副主任宋德全,市政协副主席张必达,我市老领 ...[详细]
-
Waseem ‘daring greatly’ after defeat
KARACHI:Pakistani boxer Muhammad Waseem seems to be living Theodore Roosevelt’s quote on &ldqu ...[详细] -
DNC 2024 speech: Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have a superpower no other Democrat has.
Every four years, Democrats meet for a convention and relearn that Michelle and Barack Obama are the ...[详细] -
Moon to ask Europe to ease sanctions on NK
President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook are welcomed by Stefano Zaniniafter, vice chief o ...[详细]
US Open 2024 livestream: How to watch US Open tennis for free
Homeless Girl Scouts will sell cookies for first time ever in NYC
- 雅安公安接连破获两起汉源湖非法捕捞案
- Blake Lively is trolling Ryan Reynolds once again on Instagram
- Motorola mocks Samsung's ad mocking Apple
- Twitch streamer gives a young gamer the most heartwarming pep talk after losing
- 10 Big Misconceptions About Computer Hardware
- Sunderland struggling to recapture glories
- 快评丨县城客运站日渐消逝,见证的是社会进步