From the moment the seasonal melting of the Martian polar caps was discovered, it was believed that on the Red Planet there is water, which means life is possible. Scientists have been arguing for a long time about whether there is life on Mars.
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Was there life on Mars
Many scientists are confident that life once existed on Mars. And there are many reasons for this:
- Traces of water corrosion were found on the planet, dry river beds and lakes. The evidence was the discovery solid water.
- Robots find organic matter , and in particular, methane and its connections. The presence of such components indicates that conditions for the origin of life were on the planet.
- It has been established with a high degree of certainty that the temperature on the planet used to be higher. It had a magnetic field and a fairly dense atmosphere.
If we talk about intelligent life, there is no evidence that it was there. Whether they will be discovered in the near future is unknown. So far, limited areas of the surface and airspace have been explored.
Important! Periodically in funds mass media photographs appear taken by space telescopes and orbital stations, with man-made structures depicted on them. However, scientists are skeptical about them. Most often it is just a visual illusion, a play of light and shadow. This is proven by images taken at other times of the Martian day.
Is life possible there?
If everything is more or less clear with the question of whether there was life on Mars, then another question arises.
Is it possible for the planet to be revived? We can safely say that she will soon will be populated people from Earth.
There are several programs for its colonization. Such developments are available not only in the United States, but also in China and Russia.
What is on the planet
What is there on Mars that makes it worth going on a long journey? Is it worth exploring the planet, searching on it? the beginnings of civilization(if they were) or life? There no oil deposits or gas, rare metals, diamonds or gold. At least they're still not detected. Reasons why the planet attracts earthlings:
- Mars is a kind of " Noah's Ark" Stephen Hawking argued that earthlings need at least one more planet in case the first one turns out to be unsuitable.
- There are processes taking place on the planet that may occur on Earth in the future or have occurred in the past. This will allow you to calculate the time and build by that time spacious shelters.
- If there there was a civilization or there are highly developed humanoids on the planet, it’s not a sin to communicate with them and learn useful information from them for earthlings technology.
Whatever the goals of governments and space agencies, ordinary people I want to know if it's really we are alone in the universe. If not, then why don’t aliens from other planets want to communicate with earthlings?
Do Martians exist?
Regarding life forms such as animals or humanoids, then it is more likely they're not there. So far none of the sent robots have detected no animals, no traces of them. As for other life forms such as bacteria or lichens, then perhaps they live in the deep mountain faults and gorges: where water can be in a liquid state. But scientists refute that theory, because with the pressure existing there, which is 150 times less than that on Earth, water boils at +10 degrees. Under such conditions the origin of life is impossible.
It's possible that there there are living beings, different from the forms familiar to earthlings. For example, breathable not oxygen, but carbon dioxide having a completely different chemical composition. These are life forms for which climatic conditions Mars are natural. For earthlings, this fact should not be fantastic. After all, plants breathe carbon dioxide, but can Martians breathe like that? There are places on Earth where living conditions are no less harsh, but adapted species live there bacteria, mosses and lichens. Therefore, the discovery of living creatures on the Red Planet should not be surprising.
Was Mars inhabited?
The fact that Mars was an inhabited planet is evidenced not only by landscape features.
In images taken from the Viking 7 rover, rocks are visible traces of water corrosion. This suggests that it used to rain there often.
And the planet acquired its red color due to its high content iron oxide in soil. Therefore, on Mars there was a high oxygen level in the atmosphere.
Therefore, it is more likely it was previously inhabited: it was inhabited by animals and plants close to those of the earth. The same elements participated in their breathing and metabolic processes in the body.
According to American scientists, this planet 4 billion years ago was inhabited by giant insects and bacteria. Tall trees and grasses grew, like earthly eucalyptus trees. But a catastrophe on a planetary scale occurred, and they all died out. As evidence they cite what was found in Antarctica asteroid. This piece of debris came to Earth from the Red Planet. Hardened remains of bacteria, similar to earthly ones, but only larger.
Do bacteria live there?
In 2005, the Curiosity rover landed on the planet. conducted an experiment with soil and took the analysis. The robot sent the received data to Earth. The results of the analysis shocked scientists and became another reason for heated debate. The figures turned out to be higher than they would have been in the absence of life, but less than that enough to confirm its presence. However, scientists hope that at least bacteria and protozoa, but there is no absolute confirmation of this. The question: “Is there life on Mars?” remains open.
What was he like before?
IN Lately It became fashionable to model the appearance of the planet using various computer programs before there was a disaster. A model of the past is being built based on earthly experience and ideas about what conditions were there, what vegetation covered the bottom of the seas and the oceans, what its inhabitants looked like.
Scientists can only hypothesize about what the planet was like before. In reality, it will be possible to talk about studying Martian history only after successful colonization. Information about the planet does not allow us to answer with certainty whether there was or is life possible on mars.
Before the planet was bombed huge asteroids, she was favorable for the origin and development of life. This information about Mars is obtained from the analysis of landscape images. The disaster is evidenced huge craters V southern hemisphere and the fact that it is smaller than the northern one. Part of the planet was “knocked out” gravitational field And scattered across space. Will it be inhabited again? Quite possible.
Important! Some fragments reached the Earth. In total, about 30 fragments were found and more are being found. It is possible that some of the Martian aliens, bacteria and protozoa that flew to Earth in this way settled and live here. But we don’t even know about it.
What is interesting on Mars will become known after receiving data from rovers and research probes.
Will there be life on the Red Planet?
The fact that people will populate Mars is no longer science fiction. But there is a fear that as soon as they install residential modules to receive earthlings, “real Martians” will move into them. That is, bacteria, lichens, and mold will wake up from many years of hibernation.
As is known, there were already on Earth Ice Ages, when almost the entire planet was covered with a crust of ice. But life was reborn again, new species of animals and plants appeared.
It is possible that an attempt to “warm up” the neighboring planet will turn out to be bad for the colonists and the earthlings of the present "War of the Worlds".
According to astronomers, recently Temperatures on the Red Planet are rising. This suggests that she enters a new era of its development. According to calculations made by American scientists from the NASA space agency, the temperature on it will reach terrestrial parameters in 360-390 thousand years.
Attempts by earthlings to somehow speed up this process may backfire on Mars another planetary catastrophe. Therefore, scientists are trying to convey to the world community the possible consequences of the planned activities.
Do humanoids live there?
In contrast to astronomers and physicists, ufologists argue that there there are living and intelligent beings. They do not live on the surface, where they would die from high level radiation, and deep underground. To prove it, they show images taken by orbital stations, on which wells with a diameter of 150 meters are visible.
According to ufologists, humanoids a long time ago went deep into the planet, since conditions on the surface no longer safe. Alien technology allows them to live in underground bunkers. So far no one can hypothesize neither refute nor prove. The technology that earthlings use not enough to conduct a full study. Therefore, whether life is possible on Mars not on the surface, but in the depths of the planet, the question remains open.
Information about the planet
Mars is a planet terrestrial group . He is on fourth position from the Sun. Almost twice the size of Earth. Has a weak magnetic field and rarefied atmosphere. A day is equal to 24 hours 37 minutes. The year is twice as long and is 687 days. Tilt relative to the equator similar to earthly.
Temperature at the poles in winter -89 degrees, in summer -39 degrees. At the equator it reaches +18 degrees. Temperature rises uniformly from the poles to the equator. Happens in the summer melting polar caps. Happens in spring and autumn dust storms.
Was Mars habitable?
Will humans be able to survive on Mars?
Conclusion
While technology they don't allow you to check in neighboring planet. One of the ideologists of the resettlement of humanity to other planets, Stephen Hawking, predicted that by the end of this century, people will start to colonize other planets. Whether life is possible on Mars, time will tell.
Claimastronauts And dreamers,
What on Mars will apple trees blossom..
Song of Soviet times by V. Muradeli - V. Dolmatovsky
Interest in Mars as a planet close to Earth has always been high among all generations of people. Scientists have been unraveling the mysteries of the planet for hundreds of years, but their number is only growing and sometimes surpasses the size of Mars itself. After all, few people remember that the Red Planet is 2 times smaller in size than the Earth, and its mass is only 1/10 of the Earth’s mass. And it is called Red because of the presence of a large amount of iron oxide in its soil. The planet's dust gives it a pink tint.
Basic information about Mars
Physical characteristics of the planet Mars
Mars - fourth by distance from the Sun and the seventh largest planet in the solar system.
The planet rotates around its axis in 24 hours 37 minutes 22.7 seconds, and completes a full revolution around the star in 668.6 Martian solar days, called solami, which is 687 Earth days.
The change of seasons and time of day on Mars is almost similar to those on Earth.
Atmospheric pressure according to NASA at the average radius is 636 Pa (6.36 mbar). The density of the atmosphere at the surface is about 0.020 kg/m³, the total mass of the atmosphere of Mars is about 2.5 × 10 16 kg.
The gravity of the planet is much less than that of Earth; a person, even jumping slightly, can rise 3 times higher than on Earth.
And on July 26, 2018, it was reported that quite significant reserves of water in the form of ice were found under the surface of the Moon by Italian scientists using the Marsis radar in the form of an underground lake with a diameter of about 20 kilometers at a depth of about 1.5 kilometers under the ice layer.
Traces of water have been found in the lunar atmosphere at the south pole.
Liquid water has been found on Mars. The long-awaited discovery was made by Italian scientists
And just recently, American scientists discovered streams visible on the surface of Mars, visible in the photographs dark stripes up to 5 meters wide, which appear only during the Martian summer. Most likely, these traces are left by water of very high salinity, which thaws at the equator of Mars. The previous hypothesis about some hidden source of water located at great depths inside Mars is still just a hypothesis.
Mars has the highest mountains in the solar system, so Olympus- not only the highest peak of Mars, but also the entire solar system, reaching about 27 kilometers.
By analogy with mountains, the planet is also famous for its gorges. The deepest gorge in the Marineris Valley is a 7-kilometer gorge with a length of about 4,000 km.
The thin atmosphere of Mars consists of only 0.1% oxygen, 95% carbon dioxide , nitrogen 2.7% and argon 1.6%.
Is there life on Mars
The famous question of the famous comedy “Is there life on Mars, is there life on Mars...” is still open. However, everything that is known to science today allows us to conclude that perhaps there was life once, perhaps there is now, but only at the initial stage of development, at the level of single-celled or simple organisms. But this is life!
Sharp fluctuations in night and day temperatures from - 80 ºC (at the poles -143 ºC) at night until +30 ºC at noon on the equator of Mars, strong hot winds, high rarefaction of the atmosphere - all this suggests the impossibility of survival of living organisms (similar to those on Earth) on the planet. However, one should not deny the fact-assumption that there may be other forms of life that can do without oxygen, water and live at low temperatures.
But the presence on the planet of a huge amount of that same iron oxide gives us the right to assume that previously there was no less oxygen on Mars than on Earth, and the vegetation there was simply raging. Which once again confirms the former population of Mars.
The surface of the planet, dotted with canyons and dry riverbeds, testifies to the existence of once huge reserves of water. Now these channels are covered with ice and covered with red sand.
The planet is experiencing a period of great glaciation similar to the last terrestrial glaciation, which ended here 12-15 thousand years ago and is still ongoing on Mars. According to photographs taken from Mars and further computer modeling of images performed by Russian scientists, traces of a large Martian city are visible on the surface of the planet. However, it is not possible to prove that these are actually buildings made by intelligent beings.
There are opinions, not scientifically confirmed and having the status of a hypothesis, that the Martians moved from their planet to the one closest to them and which had conditions close to those of Mars, that is, to Earth and gave impetus to the development of earthlings. And this happened only some 12-15 thousand years ago. What could have ruined Martian life? After all, as a rule, glaciation itself only changes the forms of life, but is not the reason for its complete disappearance. Perhaps life on the planet was destroyed by the impacts of giant asteroids that hit Mars.
Another version: life on Mars was destroyed by an invasion. Be that as it may, it has not yet been possible to prove the existence, at least in the past, of intelligent life on Mars. I repeat, this opinion is just someone’s fantasy.
Scientific exploration of Mars
Today, Mars is the most studied planet in the solar system and space in general, thanks to a large number satellites and self-propelled vehicles launched from Earth, which are still roaming the expanses of the Red Planet. Our country is involved in research and has launched a whole series of satellites to Mars, including Phobos-1 and Phobos-2; the experiments, unfortunately, were unsuccessful.
On March 14, 2016, the Proton-M rocket with the interplanetary module of the Russian-European mission ExoMars-2016 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The ship is heading to Mars to look for traces of life on the Red Planet. Around October 2016, the system will reach the planet and split up - one module will remain in orbit of the planet, the second will begin its descent to its surface. According to experts, the braking on the atmosphere of Mars alone will take about a year. Scientific data will arrive on the ground in early 2017.
Another launch to Mars is planned for 2018 with a Russian landing platform and a European rover. We will monitor the research results.
The future of Mars
Alas, despite all the planned research, which is important in general as a scientific understanding of space, human dreams of traveling to the Red Planet, as well as dreams of the possibilities of planting gardens there, are not destined to come true.
Mars is predicted to die soon from its satellite Phobos, whose orbit is gradually decreasing and this fact will lead to its fall onto the surface of Mars. But you and I are not destined to be witnesses of this event, as may be the case for all of humanity, because the process will happen far away, not tomorrow, but after 7-10 million years.
In the meantime, we will continue to peer into starry sky, looking for this mysterious Red Planet Mars with his eyes. And make every possible attempt to understand and comprehend the deep processes that have occurred and continue on the amazingly mysterious planet Mars, so distant and close to us.
P.S. And this is what the media reported on Today, October 20, 1916: “The device landed on the planet, but it is not yet possible to diagnose its condition.” The European Space Agency (ESA) later wrote on Twitter that a signal was being received from the module, but there was no telemetry data.
ESA clarified that the emergency situation with Schiaparelli occurred after the deployment of the brake parachutes, the landing of the device was abnormal, and there is no data yet that it crashed. But academician Russian Academy Tsiolkovsky cosmonautics Alexander Zheleznyakov believes that nothing good is worth expecting.
Although within 10 days there is still little hope of establishing communication with the module, this is precisely the time the module’s batteries are designed for. The cost of the ExoMars-2016 project amounted to several hundred million dollars.
And now it became clear that the money was “crying.” There are no traces left of the module delivered to Mars.
It's so difficult to make a way to Mars...
What do you think about Mars? Is there life on Mars?
In addition to protection from radiation, life also needs liquid water. Eigenbroad points to some encouraging signs that this vital molecule is indeed present on Mars, such as the formations in Gale Crater. Scientists have identified mudstones and sedimentary bands that only form when there is water that has been present for millennia.
Another good sign is that Curiosity found indications that water may be breaking through to the surface and freezing. Perhaps organisms also reach the surface along with this water. As for life on the surface, this is unlikely due to strong radiation.
And although Curiosity found carbon molecules, this does not mean that life exists or existed in the past. Such molecules can come from three sources. One is interplanetary and interstellar dust, which is rich in such molecules. The second one is chemical reactions underground. The last one is actual living beings.
The search for Martian life could provide a number of benefits, Eigenbroad says. In addition to the scientific value of detecting alien organisms, scientists want to identify living creatures on Mars because they could be dangerous to humans. But we are.
And with this a question arises.
Is Elon Musk going to give up on life on Mars?
Last week in Guadalajara, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX detailed his dream: to ensure that the light of consciousness does not go out. Namely: a daring plan to bring humanity to Mars and turn it into a multiplanetary species. Read more about what will happen according to Musk's plan.
One of the most important questions at the conference was asked by someone named Aldo. Will a lack of liquid water on Mars turn a colony into a “dusty, waterless camp”? How will SpaceX maintain the “sanitary standards” of the colonists on such a dead, dried-out world? Will human waste become big problem? Musk matter-of-factly replied that since there is a lot of water on Mars, the real problem will be production sufficient quantity energy to melt it all.
Obviously, Musk is missing the point we raised above: if there is life on Mars - even if alien microbes simply take up residence on Mars - any biological pollution we import from Earth could cause an environmental and scientific disaster. We may very well be the only spark of life in solar system, has technology and conscious experience, but inside each of us sits a kilogram of bacteria. Without careful countermeasures, any leaky space suit, broken greenhouse or sewer could release the hardiest members of our microbiome to spread and colonize much of Mars faster than we do. Such an outbreak of persistent microbes could easily destroy any fragile local biosphere, and with it our hopes of discovery and exploration. alien life. So, should our civilization sacrifice the possibility of finding alien life to satisfy its ambitions? Will colonizing Mars cost ecocide on a planetary scale?
Of course, this problem is not new - space agencies have been involved in "planetary defense" for many years, particularly developing missions to Mars and other destinations. NASA even has a full-time position as a planetary defense officer, currently occupied by Katarina Conley, who is responsible for maintaining planetary defense protocols. These protocols, in turn, stem from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits “harmful pollution” of other planets. But the current rules apply only to lifeless machines that can be heated in an oven, washed with antimicrobial substances and irradiated with radiation harmful to bacteria.
The most stringent sterilization procedures are reserved for spacecraft visiting “special regions” of Mars, where satellite observations have confirmed the presence of liquid water and other possible indicators of habitability. A Mars rover or lander that heads to the "special region" will carry with it 300,000 hitchhiking bacteria, less than would be found in a square millimeter of colony in a petri dish. Special regions will also be prime places of interest for future settlers of Mars. But landing even one person in such a place - let alone millions of them - would completely break the paradigm of planetary defense.
At the moment there are no solutions to this problem. Unless you can simply ignore or rewrite the rules. Musk, in turn, does not see problems in planetary protection. But in 2015, he stated that he considers Mars to be completely sterile, and any microbes can only live deep in the bowels of the planet. 
Unlike Musk, ardent supporters of planetary protection recommend not rushing headlong to Mars, but first going to the planet’s small satellites - Phobos and Deimos.
“If we leave our dirty meatbags in space and telecontrol sterile robots on the surface, we can avoid irreversibly polluting Mars and confusing the question of whether we are alone in the solar system,” writes Emily Lucdowella, a well-known blogger. “Perhaps robots will be sufficient to take samples of Martian water or detect Martian life.”
But not all scientists adhere to such restrictive approaches. Many argue that "special regions" aside, Mars is too inhospitable to life and will not allow microbes from Earth to spread widely. This is despite the fact that laboratory tests have shown that some bacteria found in humans can thrive in Martian conditions. Some believe that there is no point in worrying about planetary protection, since the Earth's biosphere has been consistently polluting Mars for a long time, starting with the first spacecraft and ancient rock fragments that went on interplanetary travel after giant asteroid impacts. But Steve Squires, a planetary scientist at Cornell University, believes that if life exists on Mars, we won't find it until we go there in the flesh. He argues that it would take a person a minute to do everything that Spirit and Opportunity did in a year.
All this debate remains strictly in academic circles, as NASA and other space agencies have periodically considered - and subsequently abandoned - sending people to Mars. Now NASA plans to officially send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s and build its own giant rocket with a crew capsule (SLS and Orion). True, experts doubt that NASA's politics and limited budget will allow the agency to implement its plans so soon.
Musk, by contrast, argues that SpaceX can develop the key technology needed to implement the plan for $10 billion and send people to Mars as early as the mid-2020s. Obviously, no one will have time to solve the issues of planetary protection in these ten years. The question arises.
Will Musk go against the scientific community and spit on Martian life? After all, when we find ourselves on Mars, all these disputes will become meaningless.
Most astrobiologists agree that the presence of liquid water is a key requirement in the search for life. After all, all forms of earthly life need water. And while life could possibly evolve without this precious fluid, it is easier to look for conditions that we know are optimal. Than the conditions that we believe may exist.
This means there is a problem with the presence of life on Mars. The planet today is dry and barren. Most of its water is contained in the polar ice caps. The planet's thin atmosphere allows for unhindered irradiation of the planet's surface. And this also adds problems. If life exists today, it is likely lurking beneath the surface. Perhaps she is hiding in a water source protected from extreme conditions.
But Mars wasn't always a desert. Scientists think that in the past, water may have flowed over its surface in rivers and streams. And perhaps vast oceans covered the planet. But over time, the water evaporated into space. Therefore, in ancient times, conditions on a wetter planet may have been suitable for the emergence of life and its evolution.
Tiny UFOs
Over the past four billion years, many “guests” have arrived from Mars. Our planet was hit by rocks knocked out from the surface of the Red Planet when large bodies fell on it. In a study of 34 Martian meteorites available to scientists, it was determined that three of them could bear evidence of the past existence of life on Mars.
Martian meteorites
In 1996, a meteorite discovered in Antarctica became famous when scientists said it could contain evidence of life on Mars. The meteorite, known as a fragment of Martian rock. It contains structures that resemble fossils of bacteria-like life forms.
Subsequent tests showed the presence of organic material in the meteorite. Although the debate is whether the material was caused biological processes, was not resolved until 2012. It was then proven that these vital components were formed without the participation of life.
Scientists also discovered structures resembling fossilized nanobacteria on the Nakhla meteorite. This is another example of Martian rock discovered in Egypt. The researchers determined that up to three-quarters of the organic material found in the meteorite could not be the result of contamination already on Earth.
These samples give hints about the possibility of life in early history red planet. But a new study of the planet's surface could provide even greater insight into the evolution of life on Mars.
The researchers obtained their first close-ups of the Red Planet from photographs taken by Mariner 4. By comparing them with images received from the Vikings, the researchers provided detailed images of the surface. They showed that the surface of Mars is dry, but contains reliefs indicating that this was probably not always the case. Gullies, signs of erosion and huge polar ice caps have given scientists hope that Mars may have harbored life in the past.
When NASA lowered the first lander to the surface of Mars, one of the experiments conducted was to search for traces of life. Although the results of the Viking experiments were considered inconclusive, they paved the way for other probes exploring conditions on the Red Planet.
Looking for water
Exploration of the Red Planet has been suspended for more than two decades. As exploration of Mars resumed, scientists focused more on finding a habitable environment than on searching for life itself. And they were especially interested in water. Mars rovers, orbiters and landers have proven the presence of water beneath the surface of the planet. As well as hot springs, which are considered an excellent potential environment for the evolution of life. And even the presence of sedimentary rocks on Mars. Although the rover's mission is not to search for life, it is hoped that it will be able to identify locations that scientists can later explore and analyze.
A future mission to Mars should include returning samples of Martian rock to Earth for study. After all, many more experiments can be carried out on Earth than were performed by robots.
Are we Martians?
The possibility of transferring material from Mars to Earth has caused some controversy. The possibility of “infecting” planets with seeds of life at an early stage of their development is being vigorously discussed even now. Some scientists argue that a meteorite from Earth could travel to Mars - or vice versa. There is debate about whether microorganisms will be hardy enough to survive a voyage through space. This icy, airless, radiation-filled vacuum. And start life in a new home.
Ecuadorian authorities have denied Julian Assange asylum at the London embassy. The founder of WikiLeaks was detained by British police, and this has already been called the biggest betrayal in the history of Ecuador. Why are they taking revenge on Assange and what awaits him?
Australian programmer and journalist Julian Assange became widely known after the website WikiLeaks, which he founded, published secret documents from the US State Department in 2010, as well as materials related to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But it was quite difficult to find out who the police were leading out of the building, supporting him by the arms. Assange had grown a beard and looked nothing like the energetic man he had previously appeared in photographs.
According to Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, Assange was denied asylum due to his repeated violations of international conventions.
He is expected to remain in custody at a central London police station until he appears at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Why is the President of Ecuador accused of treason?
Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called the current government's decision the biggest betrayal in the country's history. “What he (Moreno - editor’s note) did is a crime that humanity will never forget,” Correa said.
London, on the contrary, thanked Moreno. The British Foreign Office believes that justice has triumphed. The representative of the Russian diplomatic department, Maria Zakharova, has a different opinion. “The hand of “democracy” is squeezing the throat of freedom,” she noted. The Kremlin expressed hope that the rights of the arrested person will be respected.
Ecuador sheltered Assange because the former president had left-of-center views, criticized U.S. policies and welcomed WikiLeaks' release of secret documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even before the Internet activist needed asylum, he managed to personally meet Correa: he interviewed him for the Russia Today channel.
However, in 2017, the government in Ecuador changed, and the country set a course towards rapprochement with the United States. The new president called Assange “a stone in his shoe” and immediately made it clear that his stay on the embassy premises would not be prolonged.
According to Correa, the moment of truth came at the end of June last year, when US Vice President Michael Pence arrived in Ecuador for a visit. Then everything was decided. “You have no doubt: Lenin is simply a hypocrite. He has already agreed with the Americans on the fate of Assange. And now he is trying to make us swallow the pill, saying that Ecuador is supposedly continuing the dialogue,” Correa said in an interview with the Russia Today channel.
How Assange made new enemies
The day before the arrest Chief Editor WikiLeaks Kristin Hrafnsson said that Assange was under total surveillance. “WikiLeaks uncovered a large-scale spy operation against Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy,” he noted. According to him, cameras and voice recorders were placed around Assange, and the information received was transferred to the Donald Trump administration.
Hrafnsson clarified that Assange was going to be expelled from the embassy a week earlier. This did not happen only because WikiLeaks published this information. A high-ranking source told the portal about the plans of the Ecuadorian authorities, but the head of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, Jose Valencia, denied the rumors.
Assange's expulsion was preceded by the corruption scandal surrounding Moreno. In February, WikiLeaks published a package of INA Papers, which traced the operations of the offshore company INA Investment, founded by the brother of the Ecuadorian leader. Quito said it was a conspiracy between Assange and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and former Ecuadorian leader Rafael Correa to overthrow Moreno.
In early April, Moreno complained about Assange's behavior at Ecuador's London mission. “We must protect the life of Mr. Assange, but he has already crossed all boundaries in terms of violating the agreement that we came to with him,” the president said. “This does not mean that he cannot speak freely, but he cannot lie and hack.” ". At the same time, back in February last year it became known that Assange at the embassy was deprived of the opportunity to interact with outside world, in particular, his Internet access was cut off.
Why Sweden stopped its prosecution of Assange
At the end of last year, Western media, citing sources, reported that Assange would be charged in the United States. This was never officially confirmed, but it was because of Washington’s position that Assange had to take refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy six years ago.
In May 2017, Sweden stopped investigating two rape cases in which the portal’s founder was accused. Assange demanded compensation from the country's government for legal costs in the amount of 900 thousand euros.
Earlier, in 2015, Swedish prosecutors also dropped three charges against him due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Where did the investigation into the rape case lead?
Assange arrived in Sweden in the summer of 2010, hoping to receive protection from American authorities. But he was investigated for rape. In November 2010, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Stockholm, and Assange was put on the international wanted list. He was detained in London, but was soon released on bail of 240 thousand pounds.
In February 2011, a British court decided to extradite Assange to Sweden, after which a number of successful appeals followed for the WikiLeaks founder.
British authorities placed him under house arrest before deciding whether to extradite him to Sweden. Breaking his promise to the authorities, Assange asked for asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy, which was granted to him. Since then, the UK has had its own claims against the WikiLeaks founder.
What awaits Assange now?
The man was re-arrested on a US extradition request for publishing classified documents, police said. At the same time, Deputy Head of the British Foreign Ministry Alan Duncan said that Assange would not be sent to the United States if he faced the death penalty there.
In the UK, Assange is likely to appear in court on the afternoon of April 11. This is stated on the WikiLeaks Twitter page. British authorities are likely to seek a maximum sentence of 12 months, the man's mother said, citing his lawyer.
At the same time, Swedish prosecutors are considering reopening the rape investigation. Attorney Elizabeth Massey Fritz, who represented the victim, will seek this.