Scientists have been studying Mars for years, attempting to find out if there are signs of life on the red planet. Now, the results from two new studies contain what experts are calling, “milestones for astrobiology.”
As reported by National Geographic, a new study published in Science shows evidence that ancient Mars once had organic molecules, which are carbon-based compounds that are essential ingredients for life.
NASA biogeochemist Jennifer Eigenbrode said that NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is making seemingly impossible research more realistic.
“When you work with something as crazy as a rover on Mars, with the most complex instrument ever sent to space, it seems like we’re doing what may have been perceived earlier as impossible,” Eigenbrode said.
National Geographic reports that Curiosity’s most recent data shows that complex organic molecules were once in a lake that filled Mars’ Gale Crater. However, this isn’t conclusive proof for ancient life on Mars, as experts say non-living processes could have created the same molecules. Instead, the discovery helps scientists decide where Rovers should look for traces of ancient Martians.
Since 2014, researchers have known that methane exists is Mars’ atmosphere. However, a separate study from NASA Jet Propulsion Lab scientist Chris Webster shows that Mars’ methane levels fluctuate throughout the seasons.
Methane levels on Mars rise in the summer and fall in the winter. Webster has suspicions about why the methane levels change with the seasons, but nobody knows what is causing the methane production in the first place. Methane can only survive a few hundred years at a time, with Webster saying, “it’s a gas in the atmosphere of Mars that really shouldn’t be there.”
Caltech planetary scientist Bethany Ehlmann said the methane levels show that Mars is still an active planet that may be “right on the edge of habitability.” While important, these studies don’t prove biological activity on Mars, but they also don’t rule it out.
Upcoming research may shed more light on Mars’ methane production. When it lands in 2020, the European Space Agency’s ExoMars spacecraft will drill over six feet into the soil on Mars. The ExoMars mission is already collecting data that may allow scientists to pinpoint the methane sources on Mars.
2015’s The Martian explored the life of an astronaut stranded on Mars. In our The Martian review, we thought it was great, calling it “a love letter to science anchored by a great Matt Damon.”
