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Has the question had an impact on scientists since the beginning of the space age
Currently, several probes, robots and vehicles of international space agencies are exploring the Martian surface in search Answers
But we still do not know how Mars is habitable for possible organisms or how it could be liveable in the past.
In BBC World we remind you of five key moments in the effort to find signs of life on the red planet
1. 1976: Viking and Martian soil
NASA's Viking program consisted of two unmanned missions on the planet Mars, known as Viking I and Viking II
Each mission had a probe in orbit around the planet and a probe.
Viking Lander which landed on the surface of the planet
The Viking Lander probes were the first to look for traces of microbial activity in samples of Martian soil.
They found the proof of the simplest organic molecules.
Some members of the Viking mission are wondering if there was an error in this analysis
But until now there is no accepted evidence of microbial life on the red planet. .
2. 1996: Martian meteorite
In July 1996, scientists from NASA announce the discovery of fossils of bacterial life in meteorites in Antarctica.
Meteors coming from Mars have an impact on our planet.
There was a great initial enthusiasm in the scientific community, but after two years of studies, NASA stated that the initial analysis could not be proven.
3 . Early 2000s: methane
The exploration vehicle NASA Curiosity Mars and the European Space Agency both detected methane gas on Mars . a promising fact because on Earth much of the methane is the result of microbial activity.
Several missions, such as ExoMars of the European Space Agency, are trying to confirm the existence of methane on Mars and to determine where it comes from.
2007: frozen water
On June 2, 2003, the European Space Agency launched the Mars Express probe to study the atmosphere and chemical composition of the red planet.
Early 2005 The probe sent photographs of what appeared to be an icy sea beneath the surface and discovered in 2007 a huge mass of frozen water under the pole South of Mars
Mars Express Radar Measuring Deposits According to a study published in the journal Science
another important step was taken in 2012, when NASA's Couriosity rover found evidence that the red planet was abundant. water in the past. Analysis of the March rocks indicated that water currents were flowing from the crater of Scabies.
In 2015, Curiosity confirmed that the first centimeters of Gale crater soil presented the environmental conditions of the existence of liquid salt water (brine)), but only during the night.
. 2018: liquid water
One of the most shocking announcements about the red planet took place this Wednesday: the presence of water l liquid and salty in an underground lake under a layer of ice at the south pole of Mars.
The lake was discovered thanks to a radar installed on the probe Mars Express of the European Space Agency.
The profile recorded by the radar is similar to the large subglacial lakes that exist on Earth under Antarctica and Greenland.
The Martian Lake is located 1.5 meters below the surface of the ice and extends for about 20 km and will be
Scientists have not yet found any signs of life in this lake, but now they know where to look for them
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