Date Published: November 15, 2024
Time Published: 1:07 PM
A recent NASA study published in Communications Earth & Environment on October 17, suggests that microbial life may exist beneath Mars' icy surface, with sunlight passing through water ice to support photosynthesis in shallow meltwater pools.
The study demonstrates through computer modeling that Martian dusty ice lets in enough light for photosynthesis to happen up to 9 feet below the surface.
Mars has two kinds of ice—water ice and carbon dioxide ice. The researchers focused on water ice, which likely formed from snow mixed with dust during Martian ice ages.
This dusty ice allows sunlight to pass through and warm the subsurface, creating the potential for small pockets of meltwater.
These pockets could host microbial life, similar to the way cryoconite holes—created by dust particles in Earth's ice—support ecosystems of algae, fungi, and bacteria.
Although Mars’ atmosphere is too thin for surface ice to melt due to sublimation, the dark dust within the ice could absorb enough sunlight to melt the ice beneath the surface, protected from harmful radiation.
The most likely locations for these meltwater pools are in Mars’ mid-latitudes, between 30 and 60 degrees in both hemispheres, where conditions are favorable for both water retention and potential life.
The study’s lead author, Aditya Khuller of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is looking to recreate Martian icy conditions in the lab to better understand this phenomenon.
As NASA and other space agencies continue to explore the Red Planet, these regions could become key targets for future missions in determining the possibility of life existing beyond Earth.
REFERENCES:
[1] Could life exist below Mars ice? NASA study proposes possibilities. (2024, October 17). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/mars/could-life-exist-below-mars-ice-nasa-study-proposes-possibilities/
[2] Does life exist below the icy surface of Mars? (2024, October 18). Earth.com. https://www.earth.com/news/does-life-exist-below-the-icy-surface-of-mars/
[3] Microbial life may exist in Martian frozen water pools, study finds. (2024, October 21). New York Post. https://nypost.com/2024/10/21/science/microbial-life-may-exist-in-martian-frozen-
water-pools-study-finds/
No comments:
Post a Comment