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Title : Mars 'Super-Drought' May Make Red Planet Too Dry for Alien Life
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Mars 'Super-Drought' May Make Red Planet Too Dry for Alien Life

The surface of Mars may have been dried too long for any life forms on the planet today, a new study suggests.

A team of researchers spent three years thoroughly examine individual particles of Martian soil collected during the Phoenix Mars Lander mission of NASA in 2008. according to his observations, the surface of Mars may have been arid and desolate for over 600 million years, despite the presence of ice and despite previous studies showing that the planet may have experienced a warmer and wetter past more than 3 billion years ago.


This could mean that the surface of Mars is too hostile to support any kind of life, the researchers said.

"We found that although there is a abundance of ice, Mars has been experiencing a super-drought that may well have lasted hundreds of millions of years, "study leader, author Tom Pike, of Imperial College London, said in a statement. "We think the Mars we know today contrasts sharply with its earlier history, which had periods and warmer and wetter that may have been suitable for life."

The study results are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, but the results will also be discussed at a meeting organized by the European Space Agency on February 7.

the researchers found that the soil on Mars had been exposed to liquid water for no more than 5,000 years that the planet was formed millions of years ago. If this is the case, the water was probably on the surface for too short a time, according to scientists.

The study results are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, but the results will also be discussed at a meeting organized by the European Space Agency on February 7.

The researchers found that the Martian soil had been exposed to liquid water for no more than 5,000 years since the planet was formed millions of years ago. If this is the case, the water was probably on the surface for too short a time, according to scientists.


Pike and his colleagues analyzed soil samples dug by the robotic arm of the Phoenix probe. Phoenix landed in the northern Arctic Mars to look for signs that the planet is or was habitable, and analyze Martian ice and dirt from the surface.

The researchers used an optical microscope to examine sand particles of larger size, and atomic force microscope to make 3D images of the surface to study microscopic particles.

Since the end of the mission in November 2008, the research team has carefully cataloged sizes of individual particles to gather information about the history of Martian soil.

the researchers looked tiny clay particles that are formed when rock is broken down by water. If present, the signal samples clay interaction between soil and liquid water. But the team found no signs of this crucial marker.

Pike and his colleagues calculated that even if the few particles they saw in this size range were clay, they still represent less than 0.1 percent land in the samples analyzed. For comparison, the soil on earth is composed of 50 percent clay or more, according to the researchers. This indicates that the Martian soil has had an extremely dry history.


The scientists calculated the slowest rate that clays could form on Earth, and the use of these models, it was determined that the soil on Mars had been exposed to liquid water for only a maximum of 5,000 years.

the researchers also compared the soil of Mars, Earth and the Moon, and found that Martian soil has been largely dry throughout its history. Furthermore, they found that the soil of Mars and the moon is forming in the same arid conditions because they were able to match the size distribution of soil particles.

Still, the results are not necessarily a nail in the coffin or life on Mars.

"future missions NASA and ESA that are planned for Mars will have to dig deeper to search for evidence of life, which still may be taking underground shelter "Pike said
Source:. space.com

"Mars 'Super-Drought' May Make Red Planet Too Dry for Alien Life", article source: riseearth.com

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