Is There Life in Outer Space?

Is There Life in Outer Space? by Dr. Walt Brown

Those who believe that life exists on distant planets usually base their belief on the following reasoning:

Life evolved on Earth. Because the universe is so immense and contains so many heavenly bodies, life independently evolved on other planets as well.

This flawed reasoning assumes that life evolved on Earth. Overwhelming evidence shows that life is so complex it could not have evolved—anywhere! [See pages 7–24.] Over the last 150 years, our culture has been so saturated with evolution that some uncritically believe it, so they conclude that life must also have evolved on at least a few of the multitude of extraterrestrial bodies.

Yes, there are many stars, and a small fraction have planets. [See “Have Planets Been Discovered Outside the Solar System” on page 462.] However, the probability of just one living cell forming by natural processes is so infinitesimal, even considering the vast number of stars, that the likelihood of life spontaneously occurring anywhere in the universe is virtually zero!

Despite popular and influential science fiction books and films, such as Star Wars, E.T., Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, there really is no scientific evidence for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Hundreds of millions of tax dollars have been spent trying to find life in outer space. Conditions outside Earth are more destructive than almost anyone suspected before space exploration began: deadly radiation, poisonous gases, extreme gravitational forces, gigantic explosions, and the absence of the proper atmospheres and chemical elements. Just the temperature extremes in outer space would make almost any form of life either so hot it would vaporize or so cold it would be completely rigid, brittle, and dead. Unfortunately, these physical realities do not excite public imagination as much as science fiction and evolutionary stories.

A few people are searching for signals from outer space that would imply an intelligent source. Radio telescopes, linked with computers, simultaneously search millions of radio frequencies for a nonrandom, nonnatural, extraterrestrial signal—any short sequence of information. Yet, the long sequence of information in the DNA of every living thing on Earth is a signal from an intelligence—a vast intelligence—a Creator. Almost all those searching for extraterrestrial life believe it evolved naturally in outer space. If they ever accepted the DNA evidence for a Creator, the evolutionary basis for their search would disappear. [See “Codes, Programs, and Information” on page 11.]

If life evolved in outer space as easily as some people believe, many extraterrestrial “civilizations” should exist, especially on planets around stars that evolutionists claim are older than our Sun. Some civilizations should even be technologically superior to ours, would have recognized that earth has abundant life, and would have tried to reach us. Any superior civilization within our galaxy would probably have already explored our solar system, at least with robots. Because we have no verifiable evidence of any of this, intelligent extraterrestrial life probably does not exist, certainly within our Milky Way Galaxy.

Almost all stories of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have since been traced to natural or manmade causes. Even if technically advanced flying objects exist, they may have a terrestrial, not extraterrestrial, origin. The United States, for example, developed and flew the superfast SR-71 aircraft and its prototype several years before most senior military officers in the United States knew such technology was possible. Evidence that UFOs are from extraterrestrial civilizations, although not disproved, has not been verified and usually relies on the truthfulness, rationality, and accuracy of a few alleged witnesses.

Could God have created life elsewhere? Certainly, but the Bible is largely silent on this subject. However, the Bible does say, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.” (Exodus 20:11a). So, if life were created in outer space, it would have happened during the six creation days.

Three other Bible verses suggest that conscious, rational life is unique to Earth.

1. Romans 8:22 states, “the whole creation groans and suffers” because of Adam’s sin. This would be a strange statement if humanlike beings existed in outer space, because it would mean that although not descended from Adam, they suffer because of his sin.

2. Romans 5:12 tells us, “through one man [Adam] sin entered the world.” The Greek word we translate as “world” is kosmos, which generally means the entire universe. Again, if intelligent beings exist beyond Earth, they would be suffering for Adam’s sin.

3. Genesis 1:14 states that the heavenly bodies were made “for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.” It does not say that they were created as habitats for other creatures.

Is there life in outer space? Except as noted on page 346and below, probably not. Many people enjoy speculating on this subject, and some want to believe that life is in outer space, usually life that is superior to ours. While they may be right, little rational basis exists for this belief—either scientific or biblical.

Is There Life on Mars?

Probably. Mars’ soil at certain locations is emitting methane (CH₄), which is most likely produced by living bacteria. If so, they were probably launched from Earth by the fountains of the great deep and delivered to Mars by comets and asteroids.

Three independent groups of scientists have discovered methane (CH₄) in Mars’ atmosphere. The quantities are small but significant, averaging about 10 parts per billion by volume. Sunlight slowly destroys methane, so something, somewhere, must be replenishing that methane. Also, methane in Mars’ atmosphere should mix uniformly in only a few months, but methane’s concentration varies around the planet and appears to be concentrated where water once flowed.¹ Volcanoes on Mars are dormant, and today comets and asteroids rarely hit Mars, so today they are probably not the source of this methane. By elimination, this leaves isolated locations in Mars’ soil as the likely source for Mars’ methane.

How is methane produced? On Earth, it almost always comes from anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that do not require oxygen).² For example, bacteria in the digestive tracks of ruminant animals (such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) produce at least 20% of the methane in Earth’s atmosphere. (Bacteria in other animals and humans produce much less methane.)³

Most methane on Earth is trapped in molecule-size, crystalline cages formed by frozen water called hydrates. Each cage holds at least one methane molecule. These methane hydrates, first discovered in 1970, lie on the cold ocean floor right off the coasts of all continents. [See page 116 and the picture of “flaming ice.”] Methane hydrates contain more fossil fuel than is in all Earth’s coal and oil deposits combined. Why is so much methane there?

As the hydroplates suddenly crushed and thickened at the end of the flood, draining flood waters swept vegetation off the edge of continents.  Each leaf fragment, blade of grass, and giant log was loaded, as today, with bacteria. Some bacteria can survive and multiply exponentially even in the cold, wet sediments on the ocean floors if they have food. Preflood vegetation deposited around all continents was that food, so its carbon became the main part of methane, a by-product of decay. At the temperatures and pressures on the ocean floor, most methane becomes methane hydrates.

The fountains of the great deep also launched vegetation fragments containing bacteria, so bacteria and their food were in comets, asteroids, and meteorites. Living, but dormant, bacteria have been discovered in meteorites, and it has long been known that comets contain methane. [See page 301.] Therefore, besides providing water that flowed on Mars, comet and asteroid impacts also delivered “methane-producing machines” and their food.⁴