The Search for Life on Mars Broadens to Studying its Moons

A pair of scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has published a viewpoint piece in the journal Science describing the efforts conducted this decade to learn if Mars once hosted life. In their post, Ryuki Hyodo and also Tomohiro Usui describe the three main initiatives that are involved in trying to find proof of life on Mars over the next ten years, as well as explain why they and also others at JAXA think the very best chance of finding evidence of life on Mars pushes one or both of its moons.

As Hyodo and Usui remark, NASA is currently conducting a research study of the Jezero Crater on the surface of Mars with the Perseverance rover. That job will undoubtedly belong to a later joint effort between NASA and the ESA to gather samples from Mars and bring them to Earth. Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) project is also scheduled, which will undoubtedly involve sending probes to both of Mars’ moons and reviving samples before the decade is over.

Hyodo and Usui mention that Mars’ moons-Phobos and Deimos-are closer to the planet and smaller than Earth’s moon. The scientists report that probes sent out to examine Mars’ surface will only have the ability to check a tiny part of its surface area-imagine, they propose, a probe reaching the middle of the Sahara Desert; it would discover indicators of life, no doubt, but would find just a tiny fraction of it. They propose that a probe on one of Mars’ moons could have more luck.

They remark that previous studies suggested that Mars was once wet. Earlier research has also shown that many asteroids have struck Mars throughout millions of years. Several more significant strikes have led to little bits of the surface area being blasted right into space-one such bit has even been discovered right here on Earth. They suggest that numerous bits of Mars have been blasted into space, some of which have undoubtedly made their way to the surface of one or both of its moons. Such bits, they remark, would likely stand for a massive part of the Martian surface. Since both moons have extremely nearly clean and sterile environments, material including evidence of life might still be there.

Originally published on Phys.org. Read the original article.

Reference: Ryuki Hyodo et al, Searching for life on Mars and its moons, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abj1512