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Antarctic Alien Hunt Concludes
By Daniel Sorid
Staff Writer
posted: 12:46 pm ET
19 January 2000
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extremo_antfinished Braving temperatures as cold as minus 68 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 55.5 degrees Celsius), a team of researchers and former astronauts hoping to prove the possibility of extraterrestrial life completed their search for microbes in the desolate reaches of the Antarctic. The 10-person team, travelling to two remote sites on the frozen continent, collected meteorites and cores of ice, which will be analyzed for traces of life. If it can be shown that simple life can survive in such a hostile environment, it will bolster the argument that life may still exist, or has previously existed, in icy locations in the solar system. Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, and Mars -- both of which may contain water or ice -- have been offered by scientists as places which could support life. Initial reports indicate that the team is optimistic about finding life in their Antarctic samples. One researcher, Richard Hoover, a scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, reportedly discovered a rock with a tan film -- a sign of microbial life. The team also discovered 19 meteorites; some of which the scientists suspect contain organic matter. The meteorites and ice cores will be analyzed by a laboratory once the mission concludes and the team leaves Antarctica. A reporter for FoxNews.com, who traveled on the expedition, wrote that the team suffered some injuries, but considers the mission a triumph. Lt. Col. Jim Pritzker, of the National Guard, suffered a respiratory infection will remain at Antarctica's Patriot Hills camp for the entirety of the trip. Owen Garriot, a 68-year-old former astronaut, developed frostbite on his toe during a meteor hunt in the Thiel Mountains. The team, having completed its mission, is making its way to Chile, en route to the United States. The reporter quoted co-leader Jim Lovell, another former astronaut: "I think it was extremely successful," he said. "There were times when I had some doubts ... but it is like right after you land on a parachute jump -- if you have no broken bones you say, 'Gee, that was a lot of fun.'"
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