Clues about life on Mars may be in the Pacific Ocean

Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai, the world's youngest "island", is located about 65km northwest of Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa, possibly holding the key to human search.

The US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said December 13 that Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai Island emerged from the Pacific Ocean in late 2014 - early 2015, after an incident there.

A corner of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai Island taken in June 2017.(Source: NASA).

Initially scientists thought that the island - made up of volcanic ash and rock - would be washed away by seawater within a few months. However, the last "fledgling" island was "tougher" than expected and stood firm today with a size of 1km, 2km long and 100m high.

Although not entirely "immune" to the effects of marine erosion, scientists predict that the 3-year-old island could survive for the next 6-30 years.

According to the researchers, the " resilience" of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai partly stemmed from natural conditions , warm seawater combined with ash from volcanic eruption that formed a rocky structure. Hardness like concrete.

Jim Garvin, head of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said there is very little opportunity to study life cycles on a newly formed island.

According to the scientist, Mars also has many volcanic islands and there is evidence that they are also formed in water environments similar to those of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai or many other volcanic islands on Earth. . These may be "golden lands" for life that appear because of the combination of wet and high temperatures from the process.

The study of life processes that appeared on Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai Island can thus provide clues to the journey of finding life on Mars, helping experts form a more precise staking area. need to focus on research.