Mars Life-Supporting Process Indications Revealed by Scientists: "This finding instantly underscored its significant value to us"
Unveiling Proof of Primordial Life on Mars
Sit back and prepare for a mind-blowing revelation, folks. NASA's Curiosity rover could've just cracked the code on whether life once existed on our neighboring planet, Mars. When drilling into the central peak, Mount Sharp, in the Red Planet's Gale Crater, the rover stumbled upon traces of siderite — an iron carbonate that loudly screams, "Mars might've had a carbon cycle and, consequently, the conditions to harbor life!"
This game-changing discovery, concealed from satellite scans, could lay the groundwork for future findings that corroborate the existence of ancient Martian life. According to the study lead-author, Ben Tutolo, an associate professor with the department of earth, energy, and environment at the University of Calgary, "it served as a eureka moment".
Mars' carbon cycle, much like Earth's, is believed to have played a crucial role in its habitability. By cycling carbon between its atmosphere, land, and ocean, it provided the fundamental material for all living creatures and regulated the atmospheric conditions allowing life to thrive. The slow carbon cycle — gradual exchange of carbon due to volcanic activities, absorption by oceans, and subduction into the mantle — accounted for approximately half of this system.
Buzzing off the radarDespite numerous signs of ancient rivers, lakes, and other water bodies on Mars, powerful rovers and satellite imagery have failed to detect any evidence of carbonate minerals, which would suggest a carbon cycle on the Red Planet.
This is where Curiosity swoops in, defying all odds. Landing in the 96-mile-wide (154 km) Gale Crater in 2012, the rover, over the span of nearly a decade, has traversed roughly 21 miles (34 kilometers) investigating the area's geology. In 2022 and 2023, Curiosity drilled four samples from rocks in the crater and analyzed their mineralogy using its onboard X-ray diffractometer before beaming the results to Earth.
Tutolo and his colleagues found that the rocks were rich in siderite, with siderite making up between 5 % to 10% of each sample's total weight. Other minerals, especially highly water-soluble magnesium sulfate salts, were present as well. These salts have been theorized to be masking the signal of siderite from satellite scans, making them difficult to detect.
"With similar rocks containing these salts identified globally, we infer that they, too, likely contain abundant carbonate minerals," Tutolo said. "Combined, these deposits may store a significant amount of CO2 that once contributed to warming Mars’ climate."
An unbalanced carbon cycle
Researchers hypothesize that Mars' carbon cycle may have been imbalanced, deviating from Earth's, as the Red Planet appeared to lack Earth-like plate tectonics. At the tail-end of its potentially habitable period, Mars may have recycled its carbon into its atmosphere through chemical reactions with acidic water.
However, this recycling mechanism was top-heavy, putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and into rocks than it released back. While life was blooming on Earth, this imbalance might have contributed to Mars' gradual transition into a cold, dry desert-like planet, possibly nipping its ancient life in the bud.
As captivating as this discovery is, don't expect any souvenirs from Mars just yet. NASA's efforts to collect and bring samples from the Martian surface back to Earth are currently on hold due to budgetary constraints and delays. Nevertheless, Curiosity will continue its exploration of Mars, shedding light on the Red Planet's geological history and helping us better understand its ancient climate.
Cracking the Carbon Code?
While we don't yet have a definitive answer to the grand question of life on Mars, the Guardian declares, "Curiosity Rover will continue its work in the search for the story of liquid water and the building blocks of life." Meanwhile, we can't wait to see what other secrets this plucky little rover has in store for us!
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Sources: one: Brandon Specktor, The Explorers (www.space.com) dated April 21, 2023; two: Contributors ("Curiosity rover: 10 years of exploring Mars," BBC News (www.bbc.com) dated August 5, 2022); three: Katherine Kornei, The New York Times (www.nytimes.com) dated April 17, 2023.
Technology played a significant role in the discovery, as Curiosity rover's onboard X-ray diffractometer analyzed the mineralogy of the drilled samples from Mars, revealing the presence of siderite.
This finding, coupled with the understanding of Mars' carbon cycle and its potential imbalance, could revolutionize the field of space-and-astronomy and science, providing new insights about the Red Planet's habitability and the possibility of ancient life.
