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A self-portrait of the Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars. A new study has proposed that life may have existed under the surface of Mars. Researchers at Brown University have claimed that hydrogen from water molecules would have allowed microbes to grow for billions of years. ( Mars Exploration Program | The NASA )
A new study says that the decomposition of water molecules trapped in rocks could have survived under the surface of the old Mars.
Scientists believe that there was a large amount of chemical energy that could have supported and allowed microbes to grow under the red planet four billion years ago.
The study was published in the journal Letter on the science of earth and planets.
Life on Mars
"We have shown, based on physical and chemical calculations, that the old Martian subsoil probably had enough dissolved hydrogen to feed a global underground biosphere," says Jesse Tarnas, lead author of the study, and conditions in this habitable zone would have been similar to those of the Earth where underground life exists ".
Researchers have used Mars Odyssey data from NASA orbiting the red planet since 2001. Using the gamma-ray spectrometer of the spacecraft, they have inspected the abundance of radioactive elements potassium and thorium to infer a third radioactive element, uranium. crust. This is what researchers used to provide the radiation that leads to radiolysis, the process by which radiation breaks down water molecules into distinct parts of hydrogen and oxygen.
With this analysis, researchers discovered that the old subsurface of Mars had enough hydrogen for microbes to survive for hundreds of millions of years. In addition, the results were maintained even when researchers took into account various climate changes that could affect the process. In fact, according to Tarnas, the extreme cold could have prevented hydrogen from escaping from the planet's subsoil.
"People think that a cold climate in early March is bad for life, but what we are showing is that there is actually more chemical energy for life underground in a cold climate," she added.
Look for life
Unfortunately, the study does not confirm the existence or existence of life beneath the surface of Mars. However, it showed that life could have existed on the red planet because it contained the same key ingredients that allowed life to flourish on Earth billions of years ago.
The study also provides future researchers with clues about looking for evidence of life in the old Mars. Areas where the old basement is exposed must be explored.
Jack Mustard, a professor at Brown University and co-author of the study, already has views of megabreccia blocks or pieces of rock that have been excavated following a meteorite strike. He is also involved in the process of choosing a landing site for a mobile that will be sent to the red planet in 2020 and has revealed that two of the areas considered have gap blocks available for analysis.
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