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The water on Mars could contain more oxygen than previously thought, enough to support aerobic respiration, suggests a new study questioning traditional beliefs about the livability of the air. red planet.
A team led by scientists at California's Institute of Technology (Caltech) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has calculated that if liquid water exists on Mars, it could – under certain conditions – contain more water. Oxygen that we previously thought.
According to the study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, levels could even theoretically exceed the threshold required to allow for a simple aerobic life.
However, this finding goes against the current and accepted view of Mars and its potential for hosting in habitable environments.
Researchers have long rejected the idea that liquid water on Mars could be oxygenated, the atmosphere of Mars being about 160 times thinner than Earth's and composed mainly of carbon dioxide.
"Oxygen is a key ingredient in determining the livability of an environment, but it is relatively rare on Mars," said Woody Fischer, a Caltech professor.
"No one ever thought that the dissolved oxygen levels needed for aerobic respiration could theoretically exist on Mars," added Vlada Stamenkovic of the JPL.
For the study, the team has developed a chemical model describing how oxygen dissolves in salt water at temperatures below the freezing point of water.
They then examined Mars' global climate and its evolution over the last 20 million years.
The team found that at sufficiently low altitudes (where the atmosphere is thickest) and at sufficiently low temperatures (where gases such as oxygen are easier to stay in a liquid solution), An unexpected amount of oxygen could exist in the water – a value several orders of magnitude above the threshold required for aerobic respiration in the Earth's oceans today.
In addition, the location of these areas has changed as the tilt of the Mars axis has changed over the last 20 million years. During this period, the highest oxygen solubilities have occurred during the last five million years.
The findings could enlighten future Mars missions by providing better targets to rovers looking for signs of past or present living environments, said Stamenkovic.
–IANS
rt / soni / sed
(This story has not been changed by Business Standard staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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