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Space & Astronomy

We may have to dig deep to find evidence of life on Mars

By T.K. Randall
June 28, 2022 · Comment icon 2 comments

Could there be evidence of life deep beneath the ground ? Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A new study has suggested that evidence of ancient Martian life may only exist two meters beneath the surface.
The discovery that there was once life on the Red Planet - most likely during a time in the distant past when Mars was covered in rivers and oceans - would be one of the most important scientific discoveries in the history of human civilization.

So far we have yet to make such a find, however scientists may be closing in on it; according to a new NASA laboratory experiment, the Mars rovers may have been looking in the wrong place.

It turns out that the ionizing radiation from space degrades small molecules such as amino acids - some of which being important indicators of life - much more quickly than expected.

This means that the best signs of ancient alien life on Mars will most likely be found around two meters beneath the surface where such evidence will have remained relatively protected.
Either that, or rovers will need to target outcrops that have only recently been exposed.

"Current Mars rover missions drill down to about two inches (around five centimeters)," said Alexander Pavlov of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"At those depths, it would take only 20 million years to destroy amino acids completely. The addition of perchlorates and water increases the rate of amino acid destruction even further."

"Missions with shallow drill sampling have to seek recently exposed outcrops - e.g., recent microcraters with ages less than 10 million years or the material ejected from such craters."

Source: NASA.gov | Comments (2)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Hyperionxvii 2 years ago
When we find it, it will be us. I think maybe domes over a subterranean area might be the way to survive the radiation and extreme cold there. Maybe there is some geothermal to tap into.
Comment icon #2 Posted by L.A.T.1961 2 years ago
No need to dig bigger holes, just use what's there already to get under the surface.  Mars Cave-Exploration Mission Entices Scientists.  Subterranean formations are quite common on Mars, Boston said. Orbiting spacecraft have spotted many snaking lava tubes. Such caverns may preserve a bounty of information about Martian history and evolution, including its past and current potential to host life. "Something like the lava tubes could be wonderful traps for material from past climate regimes, particles from previous epochs on Mars," Boston said, noting that liquid water is known to have flowe... [More]


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