The possibility of alien life on mars it’s a topic that has captivated astronomers for decades.
However, 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 concluded.
There may be several ways that evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars could be eluding us.
Life could be hiding under the surface
A recent study has indicated that we need to look deeper below the surface of Mars to find traces of life.
That’s because any evidence of amino acid remnants from a time when Mars may have been habitable is likely buried at least 6.6 feet underground.
Scientists seek amino acids because of their role in the formation of life as we know it, according to the Scripps Research Institute.
Amino acids, which can be created by life and by non-biological chemistry, are a key component in the construction of proteins essential for life.
And because Mars lacks a magnetic field, its surface is subject to a lot of cosmic radiation that destroys amino acids.
“Our results suggest that amino acids are destroyed by cosmic rays in Martian surface rocks and regolith at a much faster rate than previously thought,” said Alexander Pavlov of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. , Md.
“Current Mars rover missions go down to about two inches (about five centimeters). At those depths, it would take only 20 million years to completely destroy the amino acids.”
In light of this new research, a new strategy is required when drilling shallow surfaces with rovers like Perservenace or Curiosity.
Life can exist in ways we don’t yet recognize
NASA scientist Dr. Moogega Cooper spoke with talks on google in April about life on Mars.
When asked if he thought Mars had or ever had life, Cooper’s response was positive.
She said: “Did there used to be water on Mars? Yes. Does Mars have any interesting chemistry that could have harbored or supported life? Yes.”
For these reasons alone, Cooper implies that we cannot rule out that life once existed on the Red Planet.
NASA has also not completely ruled out that there is life on Mars or other planets.
It may just be life that we don’t understand yet.
Cooper points out that microbes on Earth can exist in extremely harsh environments and the same could be said for Mars.
If we do find life, Cooper’s next job would be to make sure Earth is safe when a sample is returned here.
She explained to Talks at Google: “One day we hope to bring samples back to our own planet and you should have the same consideration.
“When you bring something back, you don’t want to bring something that could be harmful to humans.
This story originally appeared in the sun and was reproduced here with permission
