Panaji: After the success of Chandrayaan-1,
which found water on the Moon, renowned astrophysicist Dr
Jayant Narlikar has said that attempts should be made to find
out whether there is life in the form of micro-organism on the
lunar surface.
Dr Narlikar, delivering a lecture in Panaji's Kala
Academy yesterday, said that finding water on the lunar
surface through one of the payload on Chandrayaan-1 warrants
fresh perspective on the possibility of life on the Moon.
The Padma Vibhushan awardee, Dr Narlikar said, "If we
have discovered water on the moon, then attempts should be
made to find out life there, especially at the places where
water is found."
Speaking on the topic 'Searching for micro-life in the
Earth's atmosphere,' Dr Narlikar claimed that life was traced
even 41 kilometres above the Earth surface by scientists.
He quoted the experiments conducted by Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO), which had confirmed the micro
life in various forms which are not found on the Earth.
The scientist said that the research carried through
balloon tests in 2001 and 2005 had confirmed the presence of
micro-organism, which were hitherto not known on the Earth.
He said that three new bacteria were found 41 kilometres
above the Earth surface during the research, which was
examined at laboratories in UK and India. These bacteria
were immune to ultra violet rays exposure unlike the bacteria
on the Earth, Dr Narlikar said.
Two of the bacteria were named after Indian astronomer
Aryabhatta and ISRO. He raised the possibility that these
bacteria could have been trapped into a comets tail and may
have found its way into the earth's atmosphere.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, October 12, 2009, 20:49