Scientists suggest signs of life from under Mars’ surface may not survive in rocks excavated by some meteorite impacts.
Scientists analysing samples from Mars’ surface have so far not conclusively detected organic compounds that are indigenous to Mars, which would be indicators of past or present life. The inconclusive results mean that researchers are now suggesting that a good place to find these organic compounds would be deep underground – from rocks that have been blasted to the surface by meteor impacts. This is because such rocks have been sheltered from the Sun’s harmful radiation and from chemical processes on the surface that would degrade organic remains.
Now, a team of scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh has replicated meteorite blasts in the lab. The aim of the study was to see if organic compounds encased in rock could survive the extreme conditions associated with them being blasted to the surface of Mars by meteorites. The study, published today in Scientific Reports, suggests that rocks excavated through meteorite impacts may incorrectly suggest a lifeless early Mars, even if indicators of life were originally present. [More at links]