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When it comes to looking for evidence of life on Mars, there is one particularly important material: clay. Clay minerals form in the presence of water and could once have harbored microscopic life on Mars. This means they are a key target for NASA missions like the Perseverance rover which is currently on its way to the red planet.
Now, scientists have been studying a similar environment on Earth that could provide clues to find evidence of ancient Martian life. Researchers from Cornell University traveled to the Atacama Desert in Chile, the driest place on earth, to observe the soil. They found that about a foot below the surface, there was wet clay that housed life.
“The clays are inhabited by microorganisms,” corresponding author Alberto G. Fairén, a visiting scientist at Cornell’s Department of Astronomy, said in a statement. “Our discovery suggests that something similar could have happened billions of years ago – or could still happen – on Mars.”
Scientists from Cornell and Spain’s Centro de Astrobiología have found that the driest desert on Earth – Chile’s Atacama Desert, shown above – may hold a key to finding microbial life on Mars. Alberto Fairén / Provided to Cornell University
This is important to the Perseverance rover’s mission to find evidence of ancient life on Mars. The rover will use tools such as spectrometers to analyze rock samples from the Martian surface and look for indicators such as unusual layers that could indicate that there was once life on the planet millions of years ago.
“This document helps guide research,” Fairén said, “to indicate where we should look and what tools to use in the search for life.” It will also inform research carried out by European and Russian rover Rosalind Franklin, which is expected to launch in 2022.
Both rovers will be looking for microorganisms fossilized under the Martian surface, which is known to have clays in some areas. This indicates that not only was water once present, but conditions could also have been there for life to thrive. “That’s why clays are important,” Fairén said. “They store organic compounds and biomarkers extremely well and are abundant on Mars.”
The research was published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
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