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Tracing a modern biosphere on Mars

Nature Astronomy volume 5, pages 210–212 (2021)Cite this article

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Exploring the hypothesis that life is present on Mars today is key to informing planetary protection issues at a pivotal time, with the clock ticking to return pristine samples before humans irrevocably alter the environment.

The discovery of organic molecules on Mars hints at the possibility that life could have originated early in environments and from processes similar to those of Earth. The detection of variable methane emissions is intriguing1. While none of these observations represent unambiguous evidence of past or present biological activity by themselves, they do not contradict it either. Yet, if life arose, could it have persisted to the present day? Subglacial lakes could be present in the polar regions today2 and volcanic activity may have taken place recently in Valles Marineris3 and Cerberus Fossae4, which could argue in favour of underground oases near residual hot spots and water, in caves or in ice5. However, the exploration of terrestrial extreme environments suggests that modern habitats could be far more widespread and within reach than has long been theorized.

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Fig. 1: Mars biosphere engine.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NASA Astrobiology Institute via Grant No. NNA15BB01A.

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  1. The SETI Institute Carl Sagan Center, Mountain View, CA, USA

    Nathalie A. Cabrol

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Correspondence to Nathalie A. Cabrol.

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Cabrol, N.A. Tracing a modern biosphere on Mars. Nat Astron 5, 210–212 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01327-x

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