Mars can nourish life

(A recent discovery) said that Mars may have contained clues of life.

The minerals found under the surface of Mars, an area more than three miles below the surface, have shown strong evidence that the red planet may have once lived, according to the study: 'Works under Land on Mars and impacts on a deep biosphere " (Groundwater activity on Mars and implications for a deep biosphere) is published in Nature Geoscience January 20, 2013.

Up to half of all life on Earth consists of simple microorganisms hidden in rocks, beneath the surface of the Earth and sometimes, scientists have assumed that the same thing may be true for Fire. Now this theory has been supported by a new study.

When meteorites attack the surface of Mars, they act like natural probes, bringing stones deep beneath the surface. Recent research has shown that many of the rocks that come from the surface of Mars contain clay and minerals, which are chemically altered by water, an element. essential life support. Some deep craters on Mars also act as basins where groundwater is likely to appear to form lakes.

McLaughlin Crater is described in this study, which is one of the basins containing clay and carbonate minerals formed in an ancient lake on Mars. The liquids that make up these minerals may carry clues about whether or not the surface of Mars had life.

"We do not know how life on Earth was formed, but it can be understood that it originated from the underground, protecting from the harsh conditions of the surface that existed on the earth. Due to stratigraphic tectonics, however, the trace of early Earth geology was very poorly preserved, so we may never know which process led to the origin of life and early evolution, 'said Dr. Joseph Michalski, principal author and planetary geologist at London's Museum of Natural History.

"Discovering rocks on Mars, where ancient geological traces are better preserved than on Earth, would be like finding a collection of pages that were separated from the book. Whether the Earth's geological traces contain life or not, analyzing rocks will definitely give us an understanding of the early chemical processes in the solar system. ' .

Co-author Deanne Rogers, assistant professor of Geological Sciences at Stony Brook University, uses data from thermal emission spectra to detect and identify minerals, which prove to be suitable. with a sustainable water environment on the face of the Crater McLaughlin area.

"Our understanding of Mars is changing very rapidly with all the new mission data , " Professor Rogers said. "There have been some observations and recent models indicate the possibility of ever having groundwater on Mars, and perhaps even today. So you can predict that deep basins like McLaughlin, The place where the peak of the groundwater emerges, will contain evidence of this water source, and this study found that evidence. "

Current Mars exploration focuses on surface processes because sedimentary rocks are more likely to provide evidence of the best chance of human survival on Mars. However, the collected evidence shows that the surface of Mars surface is quite harsh with life for billions of years.

In future missions, scientists can choose to study rock on the surface or under the surface, or perhaps do both by targeting areas where the rocks are low. The product has been made up of sub-surface fluids.

But scientists also said they would not try to drill down to the surface of Mars to find ancient life. Instead, they can study the stones that are naturally deposited on the surface by the effects of meteorological phenomena and search in deep basins where liquids have touched the surface.

Co-authors of the study include: Javier Caudros, researcher, Clay Mineralogy, Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London; Paul B. Niles, planetary scientist, Johnson Space Center (NASA Johnson Space Center), and Shawn P. Wright, Auburn postdoctoral researcher, University of Auburn.