Discover the best location to search for life on Mars

Three scientists said they had discovered a best place to look for evidence of previous life on Mars. It is an area likely to be the youngest lake in Mars.

Finding a lake on Mars may be a remnant of ancient life

Although there is no water on Mars now, the ' red planet' has been submerged in the oceans billions of years ago. And where there is water, there is life.

3.6 billion years ago, Mars had a second wave of surface water, ie 200 million years after scientists thought it was the last time Mars had water. According to researchers' reports, this water exists in a lake inside the equator of the Martian basin, 100 miles from NASA's Opportunity rover .

Crater at Meridiani Planum, where scientists find evidence of the youngest lake on Mars

This is the youngest lake area and so this is probably the only remaining water source that ever existed on Mars. According to Brian Hynek, head of the study at the University of Colorado's Center for Atmospheric and Aerospace Physics, this discovery will help scientists learn more about the previous life on Mars: ' Find getting the most recent source of water on Mars is a positive thing since we can learn more about life that might have existed on this planet. When this lake has water on the earth that used to have life, so it can be said that there was life of microbes on Mars and this could be a suitable place to live. '

Scientists are learning about the age and origin of hundreds of sediment salts across Mars to find out how much water once existed on the planet's surface.

Hynek said : 'Like on earth, when salt is deposited somewhere, it means that water also existed in this area. So there are clues that water once existed in some form. '

To calculate the age of sediment salts is a difficult task. Scientists determine the age of anything on Mars by counting numbers and measuring the size of meteor craters in the area. They will then compare this information with similar regions on the Moon where scientists were able to estimate the age quite accurately.

But the wind has eroded many areas where sedimentary salt makes the determination of age difficult. This report is the first report that scientists can calculate the age of sediment salts quite confidently.
Using the images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (the fourth artificial satellite placed in Mars since 2006), the team studied the terrain and geography around the basin. They found evidence that, while still active, the lake expanded enough to spill water into the rim of the basin and create grooves.

The researchers tracked these trenches to a plain made of volcanic lava hundreds of miles away, about 3.6 billion years old. These ditches cut across the plains so they must form later. This means the lake is less than 3.6 billion years old.

Life is in salt

The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, where salt deposits are similar to those on Mars

Currently, scientists have no plans to set foot in the lake area to seek life. But Mr. Hynek hopes that thanks to his report, NASA 's Mars discovery vessels in 2020 will visit the area.
Hynek said: ' When water evaporates, there will be a lot of microorganisms as well as organic matter that still exist in salt and be preserved for a long time. Although there is a lot of other substances in the lake, there are many other factors that determine whether or not life exists here. The concentration of salt, acid, oxygen and nutrients in food are also important factors. "