Life On Mars

The subject of possibility of life on Mars is of important interest in exobiology because of its proximity and similarities to Earth. Till date, no such evidence has been found which can proof of past or present life on Mars. Increasing evidence shows that at the time of the ancient Noachian time period, the environment of the surface of Mars had liquid water which may have been habitable for microorganisms. Such existence of habitable conditions doesn’t necessarily indicate presence of life on it.

Scientific researches for evidence of life started in the 19th century, and are being continued today via telescopic investigations as well as deployed probes. Whilst prior work focused on bordered and phenomenology on fantasy, the modern scientific inquiry has paid attention to the chemical biosignatures, search for water in the rocks and soil at the planet's surface, and the biomarker gases in the atmosphere.

Mars is of mainly interest for the study of the origins of life due to its similarity to the early Earth. This is chiefly so since Mars has a bit cold climate and lacks continental drift or plate tectonics, so it has remained almost unchanged since the end of Hesperian period. Mars may hold the best record of the prebiotic conditions leading to life since at least two thirds of Mars' surface is more than 3.5 billion years old, even if life doesn’t or has never existed there, that might have begun developing as early as almost 4.48 billion years ago.

Ensuing the confirmation of the prior existence of surface liquid water, the Curiosity and Opportunity travellers began searching for the evidences of past life, including the past biosphere based on autotrophic, chemotrophic, and chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms and also ancient water, including the fluvio-lacustrine environments i.e. the plains that are related to ancient rivers or lakes which may have been habitable. The search for the evidences of habitability, taphonomy i.e. related to fossils and organic compounds on Mars is at present a primary NASA and ESA objective.

By: Prerana Sharma
Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Mars