possibility of Alien life on Mars It’s a topic that has fascinated astronomers for years.
But despite the best efforts of the scientific community, no evidence of past or present life on Mars has been found.
Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not there, many experts have concluded.
There may be several ways that evidence of alien life on Mars escapes us.
Life may be hiding beneath the surface
A recent study showed that we need to look deeper into the Martian surface to find traces of life.
This is because evidence of amino acids left over from a time when Mars was habitable is likely buried at least 6.6 feet below the ground.
Scientists look for amino acids for their role in creating life as we know it. Scripps Research Institute.
Amino acids, which can be created by life and non-biological chemistry, are key components in making proteins essential for life.
And because Mars has no magnetic field, its surface is exposed to a lot of cosmic radiation that destroys amino acids.
“Our results show that amino acids are destroyed by cosmic rays in Martian surface rocks and regolith much faster than previously thought,” said Alexander Pavlov of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“Current Mars rover missions descend by about two inches (about five centimeters). It would only take 20 million years to completely destroy amino acids at these depths.”
In light of this new research, a new strategy is required when drilling shallow surfaces with rovers like Perseverance or Curiosity.
Life may exist in ways we don’t yet know
NASA scientist Dr. Meet with Moogega Cooper Conversations on Google About life on Mars in April.
When asked if there was once life on Mars, Cooper’s answer was affirmative.
He said: “Was there water on Mars? Yes. Does Mars have some interesting chemistry that could potentially harbor or sustain life? Yes.”
For these reasons alone, Cooper hints that we cannot rule out that life once existed on the Red Planet.
NASA also hasn’t completely ruled out life on Mars or other planets.
It may be the life we don’t yet understand.
Cooper states that microbes on Earth can exist in extremely harsh environments, and the same can be said for Mars.
If we survive, Cooper’s next job will be to make sure Earth is safe when a sample is returned here.
He told Google Talks: “We hope to one day bring samples back to our planet, and you should have the same thought.
“When you bring something back, you don’t want to bring something that could be harmful to people.
This story originally appeared the sun and reproduced here with permission.
