According to a new study, the presence of microbes powered by radioactivity cannot be ruled out. According to a new theory, life on Mars is possible.
Our knowledge of Mars takes major steps forward every month. The Red Planet fascinates scientists who, thanks in part to information sent back to Earth by NASA's Mars rover Perseverance, have been able to "look" into the core, thus hypothesizing what's in the heart of Mars.
Not only that, the fourth planet of the Solar System also channels the interest of China - which is also out there with its rover, here it is in a tender selfie - and one of the richest men in the world, that Elon Musk who is now dedicated, a bit like two other multi-billionaires, to overcome the galactic frontiers.
Given that not a week goes by without Mars giving us some surprise, here is the latest in order of time.
Because now scientists imagine that life on Mars is possible
The theory was developed by an international team of researchers led by NASA, according to which life on Mars would be possible. In particular, it would be an ecosystem of microbial organisms whose survival occurs thanks to the radioactivity present under the surface of the Red Planet.
On Earth, the symbiosis between microorganisms and radioactivity exists, so the researchers wondered if the same could not happen on Mars. The research was published in the scientific journal "Astrobiology."
One element would give strength to the scholars' hypotheses: here's which one
"The environment with the best chance of habitability on Mars is the subsurface," said the study's lead author Jesse Tarnas, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
It's worth noting the fact that, the one cited above, is a largely speculative study because, to date, no alien microbes powered by radioactivity have been found in the subsurface of Mars. Even if we did not find them now, however, it is not excluded that there have been at some point in time.
Then there is the rebus of water, which consists more or less in this thing here: if there is, underground, on the Red Planet, water, then, perhaps in the cracks or pores, the process of radiolysis could theoretically support alien microbes. Suddenly the study just mentioned would become more plausible: because where there is groundwater, there could also be life.
Giuseppe Giordano