Recent studies confirm that life on Mars is indeed possible, not on its surface, but deep inside its Earth.
Although this red planet is still exciting scientists' dreams, space programs continue to focus increasingly on the moon.
The French magazine L'Obs says in a report by Jean-Paul Fritz that many scientists agree that the Red Planet once contained oceans of liquid water, but it evaporated in space about 3.5 billion years ago, which means that life if it continued there. , It has little chance of developing, and it may yet be microscopic.
In the report, his author explains that to solve the mystery of life on Mars, one must first think about the sun, because the impossibility of life as we know it on the surface of this planet is due to the sun's rays, especially ultraviolet, which can sterilize every atom on its land, especially since the perchlorate salts found there It has the irritating property of increasing the germicidal effects of UV rays.
An attempt to drill by the Insight probe to a depth of more than 20 cm has failed (NASA)
Subsurface life
Although there are scientists who expect nothing more than to find some fossils there, others hope that there will still be life under the surface of the Red Planet.
If we assume the validity of a study that appeared recently in the journal Astrobiology, which says that what is beneath the surface of this planet is suitable for life, then where can we prove this after the attempted drilling by InSight at a depth of more than 20 cm?
Now - says the author of the report - the team of Jesse Tarnas, a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Brown University (Brown University) simply relies on pieces of Mars soil that have transported to Earth in the form of meteors, because the different effects of asteroids and comets Over the ages, it has pushed a large amount of material from the surface of Mars, and sometimes from its depth into space.
These scientists analyzed the chemical composition of these Martian meteorites - the writer adds - the surprise was that upon contact with water, the chemical energy needed for the survival of microbial communities was produced, just like that which can be found in the dark layers of the depths of the Earth.
Where there is groundwater there is a great chance that there will be enough chemical energy to sustain microbial life (NASA)
The researcher affirms that "the importance of underground exploration for science lies in the fact that wherever there is groundwater, there is a great opportunity for the presence of sufficient chemical energy to maintain microbial life, although we do not know whether life began under the surface of Mars, and if it did, we believe that There is ample supply of energy to maintain it even today. "
So, Earth acts as a laboratory for a better understanding of life on Mars, and Tarnas and his colleagues have already relied, in addition to the Martian meteorites, on discoveries made in recent years deep in our planet, where microbes that live too far from the surface to survive.
An example of this pattern of survival - the writer says - is radioactive decay, which means that the radiation emitted from some elements in the earth's crust breaks water molecules, and produces hydrogen and oxygen, so microbes absorb hydrogen and use oxygen to "burn" this fuel, without ventilation or sun, and sometimes on Miles deep, in regions that haven't seen daylight for more than a billion years.
Data sent by "Mars Express" revealed the existence of about 4 lakes under the south pole of Mars (NASA)
Subsurface lakes
So the Tarnas team looked for possible components of radioactive decay by Martian meteorites, and the result was positive.
The study shows that in several types of Martian meteorites, all components are present in quantities suitable to host similar habitats to terrestrial habitats.
In addition, many specialists believe that there are groundwater, albeit very salty, all over Mars today, as data sent by the European Mars Express probe revealed the existence of at least 4 lakes under the planet's south pole. Water plus energy (which are essential components of life) is present in the interior of the Red Planet.
We studied the atmosphere and mapped the surface with different wavelengths of light, and landed on the surface in 6 places, and this work still teaches us a lot about Mars’s past, ”says Jack Mastard of Brown University, a study partner with Tarnas. If we think about the possibility of life in the present, then its place will be under the surface of the planet. "
The writer commented that what seems likely today is that some terrestrial organisms, especially microbes, could fully live on Mars. As for "from the perspective of long-range manned missions, we need to know how the microorganisms associated with humans will survive on the Red Planet, because some of them may represent A health risk to astronauts, even though some microbes are beneficial and can help us produce food and material supplies independently of Earth, "says Katarina Sims, a participant in the study.
Some terrestrial organisms, especially microbes, could completely live on Mars (NASA)
Save Mars
The existence of Mars may be an argument against humans going to this planet or at least a call to take many precautions, as called by Natalie Cabrol, director of the Carl Sagan Research Center at the Carl Sagan Center - SETI, the organization that specifically aims to search for life. Beyond planet Earth, she thinks it is still possible to go and collect samples before human presence irreversibly altered the Martian environment.
Cabrol has conducted research on "Mars isotopes" in terrestrial environments that are close to what is found on the Red Planet, and concluded that Mars' life is the result of 4 billion years of evolution, and any creature alive today will have plenty of time to adapt to a range of local conditions. Including those not on Earth.
"Initial life on Mars is capable of spreading and colonizing the world over," she said.
So, humans will soon go to Mars, but Cabrol calls for strict decontamination methods to protect potential Martian life samples, because "Mars will be polluted as soon as we set foot on it."