Possibility of life higher below surface of Mars, space radiation may act as catalyst, study suggests

So far, researchers have found no evidence to suggest that life once existed on the surface of Mars. But recent findings have pointed to the possibility of life below the planet's surface.

While the conditions for life are considered less harsh and traces of water have also been found, the subsurface has yet to be fully-explored.

Astrophysicist and research scientist Dimitra Atri at the Center for Space Science at New York University, Abu Dhabi, is of the belief that the subsurface would be a more suitable candidate to support Martian life.

In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, Atri has argued that continuous bombardment by galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) could easily provide the energy required to stimulate organic activity.

The research scholar studied the effect on the environment of the Red Planet's subsurface when GCRs are continuously emitted. In a thermodynamic process called the chemical disequilibrium, the study revealed the radiation could act as major catalysts in developing life-generating conditions.

A planet’s global magnetic field is the magnetic field that extends from its interior and to outer space.

Atri has argued that the GCRs will induce a certain chemical reaction that can create metabolic energy and host living organisms. The process will be quite similar to the chemical and radiation environments seen on Earth.

"It is exciting to contemplate that life could survive in such a harsh environment, as few as two meters below the surface of Mars," added Atri.

Interestingly, the study also suggests ways by which life could be detected by scientists in future missions to Mars.

Space agencies have plans of exploring the untouched subsurface of Mars, as per a report in the Independent.

A rover as part of the ExoMars mission, jointly handled by the European Space Agency and the Roscosmos, was supposed to be launched but had to be delayed for technical reasons. Now the rover will be sent in two years’ time.

Atri is of the strong opinion that the ExoMars rover will be able to detect life beneath the surface.



from Firstpost Tech Latest News https://ift.tt/39D3F0h

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elon Musk’s bid spotlights Twitter’s unique role in public discourse – and what changes might be in store

Twitter has been in the news a lot lately, albeit for the wrong reasons. Its stock growth has languished and the platform itself has largely remained the same since its founding in 2006. On April 14, 2022, Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, made an offer to buy Twitter and take the public company private. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission , Musk stated, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.” As a researcher of social media platforms , I find that Musk’s potential ownership of Twitter and his stated reasons for buying the company raise important issues. Those issues stem from the nature of the social media platform and what sets it apart from others. What makes Twitter unique Twitter occupies a unique niche. Its short chunks of text and threading foster real-time conversations among thousands of people, which
Read more

To reach net-zero emissions and remove CO2 from the air, scientists drawn up six priorities

Image
To reach net-zero emissions by 2050, global emissions must be cut faster and deeper than the world has yet managed. But even then, some hard-to-treat sources of pollution – in aviation, agriculture and cement making – may linger for longer than we would like. It will take time for clean alternatives to arrive and replace them. That means the world also needs to find and ramp up ways of taking CO₂ out of the atmosphere to stabilise the climate. Just meeting the UK’s net-zero target is likely to require the removal of 100 million tonnes of CO₂ a year , similar in size to current emissions from the country’s largest-emitting sector, road transport, but in reverse. The UK government’s announcement of £31.5 million (US$44.7 million) in support for research and development of carbon removal is welcome. And while trials of new tech will help, there are many social issues that need to be tackled if removing greenhouse gases is to succeed. Done right, carbon removal could be the perfect a
Read more

NASA is planning to partner with SpaceX to reboost the Hubble Telescope and extend its life

Image
The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most important scientific achievements of the human species that has helped us understand space. It has been in orbit for over 30 years and has been feeding some of the most vital streams of information that has not only helped us steer our space exploration efforts, but also solve some of the more deep mysteries of the universe . NASA would love to extend its usable life for as long as possible. Unfortunately, for some years now, Hubble Space Telescope has been slipping out of its orbit. That is why, NASA is planning to team up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and place it into a higher much more stable orbit. NASA, SpaceX and Jared Isaacman, a private astronaut with the Polaris Program, hosted a media teleconference on Thursday to announce a feasibility study that will look into sending a commercial Dragon spacecraft to reboost the Hubble Space Telescope . This will, in effect place the telescope into a higher and more stable orbit than it’s curren
Read more