[ad_1]
Copyright image
Getty Images
Up to now, there is no accepted evidence of microbial life on the red planet.
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 Mars, known as Viking I and Viking II
Copyright COSTUMES
"COSMOS • A PERSONAL TRAVEL "/ Druyan-Sagan
The famous astronomer and scientific scatterer Carl Sagan with a model of a Viking Lander in California's Death Valley.
Each mission had a probe that orbited the planet and also a landing probe, Viking Lander that landed on the surface of the planet
The Viking Lander probes were the first to look for footprints. of microbial activity in Martian soil samples.
Copyright of the Image
NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona
In this model of the probe d & # 39; Landing or Viking Lander of how the mission collected samples of Martian soil in 1976.
But scientists have found no evidence of the simplest organic molecules
Some members of the Viking mission are wondering if there was an error in this analysis.
But until here there is no accepted evidence of microbial life on the red planet . 1996: Martian meteorite
In July 1996, scientists from NASA announced the discovery of fossils of bacterial life in meteorites in Antarctica.
Copyright image
NASA / JSC / Stanford University
It is believed that this 4.5 billion year old rock, ALH84001 meteorite, was part of Mars.
The meteorites, coming from Mars, had an impact on our planet 12,000 years ago.
The scientific community had a great initial enthusiasm, but after two years of studies, NASA stated that the initial analysis could not be proven.
3 . The beginnings of the 2000s: methane
NASA Mars Curiosity's exploration vehicle and the European Space Agency's probes detected methane gas on Mars . by author of the image
ESA
The Mars Express probe of the European Space Agency was one of those that detected methane on Mars.
This is a promising fact because on Earth much of the methane is a result of microbial activity.
Several missions, like ExoMars of the European Space Agency, are trying to confirm the existence of methane on Mars and determine its origin. 19659011] 4. 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.
Copyright image
NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona
The Gale Crater of Mars is one of the sites where NASA has detected signs of water in the past of the planet.
In early 2005, the probe sends photographs of what appears to be an icy sea beneath the surface and discovers in 2007 a huge body of frozen water under the south pole of Mars.
radar on board the Mars Express has measured the deposits of more than 3 km of frozen water under one of the poles, according to a study published in the journal Science
Another milestone took place in 2012, when the Couriosity rover of NASA found evidence that the red planet had abundant water in the past. The March rock analysis indicated that water currents were flowing from the crater Gale.
In 2015, Curiosity confirmed that the first centimeters of Gale crater soil presented environmental conditions for the existence of liquid salt water (brine)), but only at 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
Send your questions to the scientist who discovered liquid water on Mars
Copyright image
NASA / JPL / MALIN SPACE SCIENCE SYSTEMS
] The Martian Lake is 1.5 meters below the ice surface and extends for about 20 km.
The lake was found thanks to a radar installed in the spacecraft 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
Copyright image
NASA / JPL-Caltech
The NASA vehicle that will be launched in two years, MARS 2020, has a drill to collect rock samples from Mars and look for signs of microbial life.
The Martian Lake is located 1.5 meters below the surface of the ice and extends for about 20 km and will undoubtedly be the focus of future missions.
Scientists have not yet found any signs of life in this lake, but now they know where to look for them
Now you can get notifications from the BBC News World. Download the new version of our application and activate it to not miss our best content.
Source link
