A recent study led by NASA suggests that there could be alien life hidden beneath the thick ice layers of Mars. The ice was likely formed from snowfall mixed with dust. When the dust absorbs sunlight, it warms the area under the ice, which must have created small pools of melted water below the surface. These hidden, warm and wet spots may provide safe spaces for tiny organisms to live. For detailed study, the team used advanced computer models to understand how sunlight could reach these pools and how tiny life forms use that light for energy.
Talking about the new discovery, Aditya Khuller, postdoctoral Research Fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Space.com, “Unlike Earth, Mars lacks a protective ozone shield, so there is 30% more harmful ultraviolet radiation at the surface in comparison with our planet. Thus, on Mars, the areas where photosynthesis could occur are more likely to be within dusty ice because the overlying dusty ice blocks the harmful ultraviolet radiation at Mars’ surface, and liquid water is highly unstable at the surface of Mars due to its dry atmosphere.”
Khuller and his team used computer models to show that the ice on Mars can melt from inside. The ice on top helps keep this melted water safe from disappearing into the dry air of Mars.
The scientist added that two important things for photosynthesis, sunlight and water, can both exist under this dusty ice found in the middle regions of Mars. Other studies have also shown that when there’s a small amount of dust mixed into the thick snow on Mars, it can cause melting below the surface even today. This means that there could be hidden pools of liquid water beneath the ice.
He was surprised to learn that similar conditions of life might exist in icy areas on Earth, specifically in places known as “cryoconite holes.” According to Khuller, these holes develop when “dust and sediment on top of the ice melt into the ice because it is darker than the ice.”
During summer time, the sunlight warms the dark dust, which create liquid around it, even if the ice above is still frozen, acting like a lid. Since the ice allows some sunlight to pass through, the heating can happen beneath the surface.
Aditya Khuller added, “We are not stating we have found life on Mars, but instead we believe that dusty Martian ice exposures in the mid-latitudes represent the most easily accessible places to search for Martian life today. I am working with a team of scientists to develop improved simulations of if, where, and when dusty ice could be melting on Mars today. Additionally, we are recreating some of these dusty ice scenarios in a lab setting to examine them in more detail.”
While more research is still needed, Khuller and his team have currently identified specific areas on Mars where alien life is most likely to exist among its vast surface.
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