Have aliens landed on Earth’s Moon or Mars? The answer is both no and yes. Read on to see who these aliens are and where they landed.
Dr. MMM of AstroPicionary has taught astronomy to 10,000+ students over 15+ years at a USA Carnegie Level R1 University. The author continues to teach more than 10 classes of astronomy and physics each year at different colleges and universities. She also authors textbooks in astronomy that are in use worldwide. Here, Dr. MMM discusses a topic that is interesting to learners in her classes that might be interesting to you too!
Who are Aliens?
Typically humans think of aliens as someone that is not from their home country. In astronomy, aliens are beings that are not from planet Earth. The AstroPictionary video below explains aliens from the viewpoint of Earthlings and a being that is not from planet Earth.
Any non-Martian that lands on Mars within the Solar System of the Milky Way Galaxy would be an alien. Similarly, any non-Moonian that lands on the Moon of Earth would be an alien. As such, a human like astronaut Neil Armstrong, shown above, is an alien if he lands or walks on Mars or the Moon. Hence, not all aliens look like the little green man shown left in the video above.
Earthlings are aliens to any celestial object other than planet Earth. For example, the image below shows astronaut Buzz Aldren on the Moon. Aldren is being photographed by another astronaut on the Moon, Neil Armstrong. As both astronauts are not from the Moon, but are on the Moon’s surface, both astronauts are aliens to the Moon.
The image above shows astronaut Aldrin next to a leg of the lunar module known as Eagle of the Apollo 11 mission. Zoom in to the helmet of Aldrin to see the reflection of photographer and astronaut Armstrong, who is also on the Moon. Also shown in the reflection are planet Earth, the lander module, an American flag, and various instruments.
Astronauts Aldrin and Armstrong are from planet Earth. As such, Aldrin and Armstrong are aliens on the Moon. The image above shows aliens Buzz Adrin and Neil Armstrong on the Moon. The image also shows their alien boot prints.
Although no Moon or Mars creature (i.e., Moonian or Martian, respectively) is known to exist, the definition of alien does not require one. The definition also does not require two beings communicating on the surface of one being’s home celestial object. Alien requires a being near or on a celestial object that is not its home celestial object.
Are Aldrin and Armstrong the only two to walk on alien lands? Read on to find out.
Have Aliens landed on Earth’s Moon?
Twelve aliens have landed on the Moon before 2022. They are
- Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin during Apollo 11
- Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean during Apollo 12
- Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Edgar D. Mitchell during Apollo 14
- David R. Scott and James B. Irwin during Apollo 15
- John W. Young and Charles M. Duke during Apollo 16
- Eugene Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt during Apollo 17.
Young and Cernan also orbited the Moon during Apollo 10. Other astronauts that orbited the Moon are
- Frank Boreman, William A. Anders, and James A. Lovell Jr. during Apollo 8
- Thomas Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene Cernan during Apollo 10
- Michael Collins during Apollo 11
- Richard F. Gordon Jr. during Apollo 12
- James A. Lovell Jr., Fred W. Haise Jr., John L. Swigert Jr. during Apollo 13
- Stuart A. Roosa during Apollo 14
- Alfred W. Worden during Apollo 15
- Thomas K. Mattingly II during Apollo 16
- Ronald E. Evans during Apollo 17.
These are aliens to the Moon; to Earth, these humans are Earthlings.
Have any aliens been to Mars? Read on to find out.
Have Aliens Landed on Mars?
No aliens are known to have landed on Mars. Humans have built spacecraft that have gone to Mars. As Earthlings are aliens to Mars, Earthlings have sent alien spacecraft to Mars. As such, alien spacecraft have landed or crashed on Mars.
Does Earth’s Moon Have Life?
Water is on the Moon’s surface. NASA’s Sophia 747 modified aircraft discovers water on the side of the Moon facing the Sun. Not much water is present, only about 12 ounces per cubic meter of surface lunar soil. The lunar surface is arid. Results are in Nature in 2020. Besides water, ice is also near the poles in permanent shadow parts of craters. Many spacecraft such as Cassini and Deep Impact have detected hydrated lunar soil in sunnier parts. However, these missions could not determine if hydration was from water.
The YouTube video below explains the discover of water on the Moon. This water may have come to the Moon via small meteorite impacts. Water may be located everywhere on the lunar surface.
Water is a key ingredient for life as humans know life. Although some life does not need much water: One example is a tardigrade on Earth, which can be as large as 1.5 mm (see image at left).
Tardigrades can survive extreme temperature ranges (0.01 K – 420 K), high pressures, ionizing radiation, and even space. Micro-animals like tardigrades may possibly survive the environment of the Moon, now that the Moon has water.
Although life like tardigrades may be possible, no life has yet been found on Earth’s Moon.
Does Mars Have Life?
Landers and rovers have been searching for life on Mars since the 1970’s. Here is a brief summary.
In 1976, USA Viking 1 conducted surface soil experiments: Although one experiment suggested life exists on the Martian surface, the greater astronomical community claimed the result as a false positive. Mars has a weak ozone layer. Therefore, UV light from the Sun would sterilize the Martian surface. No life should be found in soil directly receiving sunlight.
Starting in 2004, USA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit began roving on the surface of Mars. It was searching for signs that water once flowed on Mars. It found that the Martian soil could have sustained microbial life when Mars was warmer and wetter long ago.
Starting in 2012, the USA Mars Science Laboratory Rover Curiosity roved the surface of Mars. It explored habitability on Mars and searched for the potential for microbial life. Early results found chemical and mineral evidence that suggests habitability was possible once upon a time on Mars.
Starting in 2021, China’s Tianwen-1 Zhurong Rover successfully began roving the surface of Mars. An instrument on the rover can detect pockets of water beneath the surface; these pockets of water may contain life. Also roving Mars is USA’s Mars Perseverance Rover and is also searching signs for ancient life. Both missions are still in their early days.
To date, no life has been scientifically found by any space mission from Earth. No microbial life has been found. No Martians have been observed.
Summary of Alien Landings
Earthlings are from planet Earth, hence the name Earthling. Earthlings near or on any other celestial object are aliens to that celestial object. For example, as humans have landed and walked on the Moon, Earthlings are aliens to the Moon.
Although Earthlings are aliens to Mars, Earthlings have not yet been to Mars. Humans have built spacecraft that have orbited, landed, and crash landed on Mars. To date, neither Martians nor microbial life have been found by Earth missions to Mars.
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