The day after the Perseverance robot landed on Mars, the astrophycian Sylvia Ekstrom, co-author of "We will not live on Mars, nor elsewhere", was the guest of Europe 1. She explained that the proof of life on Mars was used primarily to learn more about the geological and climatic evolution of the planet.

INTERVIEW

"To have an indication on whether life started on Mars, that would be a phenomenal information", affirms Sylvia Ekstrom, astrophysicist and co-author of

We will not live on Mars

, nor elsewhere (editions Favre).

Invited from Europe 1, she explained the interest of sending the Perserverance rover to the red planet to take samples in search of traces of life, when it would be impossible for us, as humans. , to survive it.

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"See how a planet evolves, geologically and climatically"

Indeed, what is the point of knowing if there is life on Mars if we cannot live there?

“Knowing whether life is universal or an earthly exception is one of the great questions that humanity has been asking itself for millennia,” says Sylvia Ekstrom.

"Small robotic missions are perfect for sending this kind of information, especially if we can recover samples," she continues, referring to the mission of Perseverance, the rover which landed successfully on Mars on Thursday after seven long months. of travel.

"It's always interesting to see how a planet evolves geologically and climatically", explains the astrophysicist, drawing a parallel with the conditions which, one day, allowed life on Earth.

"We have the opposite example with Venus which is a hell of heat, with a gigantic atmosphere".

Mars, on the other hand, is a small frozen desert without an atmosphere, and "it's always interesting to see what it is. At the level of the mass of the planet, of the position of the planet in relation to the star, we can completely change the scenario ".

Differentiate between living and surviving

In any case, when it comes to living on Mars, Sylvia Ekstrom reminds us, "you have to differentiate between living and surviving".

"Surviving on Mars may be possible, but there are many pitfalls before us before we can step onto the red sand. On the other hand, living there is completely excluded since Mars is not a habitable planet."

For the simple reason that the atmosphere does not protect enough from the sun's rays and the air is not breathable.