NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered rocky material on Mars that is rich in manganesea mineral abundant in terrestrial lakes and closely associated with microbial life.
A hint of past life on Mars?
This discovery represents another piece of a much larger puzzle, suggesting that Gale Crater, suspected of being an ancient lake bed, was once rich in life billions of years ago.
Patrick Gasda, a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author of a study published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planetscommented: “On Earth, these types of deposits form continuously thanks to the high presence of oxygen in the atmosphere, produced by photosynthetic life, and by microbes that catalyze manganese oxidation reactions.”
However, Gasda urges caution: “On Mars, we have no evidence of life and the mechanism for producing oxygen in the ancient Martian atmosphere is unclear, so how these manganese oxides formed and concentrated is truly a mystery.”
Curiosity data analysis
Gasda and his team analyzed the data obtained from ChemCam of Curiosity, a laser that vaporizes rock surfaces to form plasma. By analyzing the light emitted by the plasma, researchers can deduce the elemental composition of rocks.
The rover is passing through an area of porous sand and rock that may have allowed groundwater to pass through. This movement of water could explain the geological processes that allowed the formation of the detected manganese.
On Earth, manganese is enriched by the presence of oxygen, a process that can be accelerated by microbial life that uses the energy produced for its own metabolism. Could the existence of manganese be identified by Curiosity be evidence of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet? Could the mineral have provided these microbes with a necessary energy source?
Nina Lanza, principal investigator of the ChemCamhe claims:
- “The Gale Lake environment, revealed by these ancient rocks, offers us a window into a habitable environment that bears a striking resemblance to places on Earth today.”
What do you think of this discovery? There may have been life on it Mars? Share your opinion in the comments!
#Curiosity #finds #minerals #linked #life #Mars
