You can use research on Earth to find extraterrestrial organisms on the Red Planet.
The Perseverance rover is now searching for traces of ancient extraterrestrial life on Mars. But scientists believe these markings can be detected by examining fossils of the oldest living organisms on Earth, Space writes.
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About 3.5 billion years ago, cyanobacteria became the dominant life form on Earth. It was the first living organism on our planet that could be seen with the naked eye. There are not many places left on Earth where the fossils of these ancient organisms, called stromatolites, are preserved. One of them is located in western Australia. Scientists believe that the study of stromatolites will help understand exactly what signs of life to look for in stones estimated to be 3.5 billion years old on Mars.
Scientists from NASA, the Australian Space Agency and the European Space Agency conducted a joint study on stromatolites in Australia. According to them, understanding the evolution of life on Earth will help apply this knowledge to the search for life on Mars.
According to scientists, in order to prove that an object is of biological origin, it is necessary not only to prove that life created it, but also to prove that this object was not created as a result of other processes. Scientists believe that information from such observations of terrestrial fossils will come in handy if rock samples from Mars reach Earth in about 10 years.
The Perseverance rover explores the Martian Crater Lake, where a lake and river delta was located billions of years ago, and collects local rock samples that may contain signs of extraterrestrial life. Scientists plan to bring these samples back from Mars using several spacecraft that will fly there later this decade or early next year. When these samples are brought back to Earth, scientists want to scrutinize them and perhaps find something that could point to extraterrestrial life or its presence on Mars in the distant past.
But the mission to return samples from the Red Planet required much more money than the US Congress had allocated to NASA. NASA demanded twice as much money as the initial $4 billion needed to create the new spacecraft and carry the mission to Mars. But congressmen have called for the space agency to cut spending to $5.3 billion.
As I already wrote Focus A strong energy and plasma effect due to the solar flare will hit Mars, which may lose some of its atmosphere. The launch of the plasma into space came as a surprise to astronomers, although it did not pose a threat to Earth.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.