Water in Mars regions may have rudimentary life
December 13th, 2011 - 2:26 pm ICT by IANSSydney, Dec 13 (IANS) Patches of Mars sub-surface could contain water and sustain a rudimentary form of life, such as martian microbes, reveals a study.
“Our models tell us that if there is water present in the Martian sub-surface, then it could be habitable,” said doctoral student Eriita Jones from the Planetary Science Institute of the Australian National University.
“We know that there is a hot, deep biosphere on Earth that extends to around five kilometres. If there is a hot deep biosphere on Mars, our modelling shows that it could extend to around 30 kilometres,” study co-author Charley Lineweaver added.
The same scientists had modelled the earth earlier and identified water that was inhabited and water that was not, the Astrobiology Journal reported.
In this research, they applied the same technique to Mars and found that a large fraction of the Martian sub-surface could be harbouring habitable water, according to a university statement.
“We found that about three percent of the volume of present-day Mars has the potential to be habitable to terrestrial-like life. This is compared to only about one percent of the volume of the Earth being inhabited,” said Lineweaver.
“Our conclusion is that the best way to find water - or potentially microbes - on Mars is to dig. Sadly, NASA’s Curiosity Rover, which is scheduled to land on Mars in August, has a limited capacity to scratch the surface to 10 or 20 centimetres,” he added.
- Habitable planets more abundant than stars: study - Apr 30, 2012
- How seas and lakes may have once developed on Mars - Oct 19, 2010
- Hot springs on Mars may have nourished life - Nov 04, 2011
- Third of Earth's organisms live in rocks, sediments - Aug 09, 2012
- Shallow reservoirs of liquid water may have been common on Mars - Nov 23, 2010
- Five places where life may exist in solar system - Mar 02, 2012
- Water found on Jupiter moon - Nov 17, 2011
- Nasa Study Shows Asteroids May Have Accelerated Life On Earth - May 21, 2009
- No 'safe haven' for organic molecules on Mars - Jun 11, 2010
- Witwatersrand basin in South Africa has 'world's oldest water' - Feb 21, 2011
- New ice-melting probe could help penetrate frozen environs on Earth, Mars - May 02, 2011
- NASA rover lands on Mars to discover if there was life (Lead) - Aug 06, 2012
- Asteroid bombardment not so cataclysmic - May 21, 2009
- 'Rock-breathing' bacteria could be used to generate electricity and clean up oil spills - Dec 15, 2009
- NASA spacecraft detects significant changes in Mars' atmosphere - Apr 22, 2011
Tags: 20 centimetres, astrobiology journal, charley lineweaver, co author, conclusion, curiosity, deep biosphere, doctoral student, fraction, kilometres, limited capacity, mars in august, martian microbes, nasa, patches, planetary science institute, present day, scientists, sydney, volume of the earth