No Evidence Of Surface Microfossils On Mars, Says NASA Planetary Scientist

Since time immemorial, Mars has tantalized earthlings with the likelihood that it harbors life. However like a foul cleaning soap opera, its exploration has created astrobiological cliffhangers which have principally turned out to be useless ends.

In the present day, planetary scientists are assured that for a quick 500-million-year epoch early in its historical past, Mars had operating liquid water on its floor, with rivers, lakes, deltas and perhaps even an ocean. The fact at current, nonetheless, is that the Martian floor is much more inhospitable than the driest deserts on Earth.

The floor is totally inhospitable, Jennifer Stern, a planetary scientist at NASA Goddard Area Flight Middle in Maryland, advised me. Coupled with the truth that there’s no liquid water on the floor, Mars additionally suffers from a continuing stream of cosmic and photo voltaic radiation, she says. It’s actually tough to think about that some form of organism might have tailored to those actually unhealthy situations, says Stern.

From what we have measured on the floor not less than, the whole lot factors to abiotic, non-biological processes, says Stern in a presentation this previous week on the, 241st assembly of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) right here in Seattle. The most effective hope for future Mars exploration lies in its subsurface, she says.

The unexplored close to subsurface might have maintained a liveable setting longer than the floor, Stern notes in her AAS summary. And data of natural molecules might persist past the attain of ionizing radiation from galactic cosmic rays, she writes.

How has the Mars habitability paradigm shifted because the period of the mars Viking landers?

When NASA despatched the 2 Viking landers, they actually threw the whole lot on the query of life, says Stern.

However when they didn’t detect life, that was form of the loss of life knell for NASA’s Mars exploration for the subsequent 25 years, she says.

Then after we did return, we began interested by what’s probably the most fundamental factor that life wants, Stern asks. And it is fairly indeniable that that water must be current for all times as we all know it to exist, she says.

However up to now, there’s no arduous proof for all times at Mars’ floor.

With NASA’s Mars rovers, detections of advanced organics in each some 3.8-billion-year-old Gale Crater and Jezero Crater mudstones, we now know that natural carbon is probably going broadly distributed on Mars, Stern famous in her AAS presentation.

Sure natural molecules, like amino acids and lipids, are extra indicative of life and the issues that we see within the fossil document on Earth, says Stern. However we’re not seeing these molecules on Mars, she says. And we don’t see proof of microfossils, says Stern.

Are we midway there in understanding Mars’ historical past of habitability?

I believe that we’re fairly far alongside, says Stern. With the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, we have confirmed that there are natural carbon-bearing molecules on Mars, she says.

Does Mars at present have any flowing water?

There’s a number of proof of previous water, however we do not have proof of flowing water right this moment, says Stern. The minerals that we discover are minerals that may solely be made in water, she says.

Why did Mars go arduous so horribly improper so rapidly?

“I do not know if it is that Mars went so improper or perhaps that Earth simply actually acquired fortunate in its habitability,” mentioned Stern.

Even so, Mars had the misfortune of simply being smaller than earth which implies it cooled a lot quicker, says Stern. Mars seemingly misplaced its inside dynamo early which usually would have generated a worldwide magnetic discipline which might have protected the crimson planet from the ravages of the Solar’s charged particles.

NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft confirmed that Mars was seemingly stripped of its environment by the photo voltaic wind’s charged particles.

We all know there may be ice in Mars’ subsurface and there might be liquid water within the subsurface, we simply do not know, says Stern. On Mars the subsurface is totally unexplored, however we all know that Earth’s subsurface is a liveable setting, she says. There’s life on Earth some 5 kilometers deep, says Stern.

Does Mars even have life beneath its floor?

I believe all bets are off as a result of we’ve not gone there but, so we do not know, says Stern. If there might be life deep within the Earth, there very properly could possibly be life deep in Mars, she says.