NASA’s Mars Announcement: Two Major Errors You Missed

Key Takeaways

1. Nicola Fox mistakenly stated that the Milky Way galaxy is about 100 billion light-years across, while it is actually around 100,000 light-years wide.
2. The observable universe is approximately 92 billion light-years in size, making Fox’s claim incorrect.
3. Lindsay Hays claimed the rocks on Mars are about 350 billion years old, which exceeds the age of the universe itself, estimated at 13.8 billion years.
4. The oldest confirmed fossils on Earth are about 3.45 billion years old, much younger than Hays’ claim.
5. Joel Hurowitz, the lead author of the study, estimated the age of the Martian rocks to be between 3.2 and 3.8 billion years.

Two days ago, NASA shared news that many people are calling the strongest hint yet of possible ancient microbial life on Mars, which is definitely thrilling for those who love astronomy. However, there are mistakes made by Nicola Fox, who is the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and Lindsay Hays, a senior scientist for Mars Exploration in NASA’s Planetary Science, that no one seems to be discussing.

Misleading Measurements

About 22 minutes and 35 seconds into the livestream, Nicola stated, “our galaxy is about a hundred billion light-years across,” which is a completely incorrect figure. This number exceeds the total size of the observable universe, which is around 92 billion light-years wide. The Milky Way, our galaxy, is thought to be about 100,000 light-years across. Did she confuse our galaxy with the whole universe, or mix up 100,000 with 100 billion? That’s a question that remains unanswered.

Incorrect Claims

Next, Lindsay Hays appeared around the 41:15 mark, claiming that the rocks containing the possible organic material were about 350 billion years old, which she noted is roughly the same age as Earth’s earliest fossils.

This too is a figure that even the universe can’t claim. The universe is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old, which is more than 25 times younger than the age she mentioned. Additionally, the oldest confirmed fossils discovered on Earth are believed to be approximately 3.45 billion years old. Joel Hurowitz, who is the lead author of the study that NASA reported, only estimated the rocks to be between 3.2 and 3.8 billion years old.