The ancient seas of Mars are not livable — study
A study on modeling the climate of Mars showed that the ancient seas of the planet are not suitable for life. At least in the form in which they exist on Earth.
In the climate of modern Mars, low temperatures prevail. A drop of water on the planet instantly freezes or evaporates. The presence of salts slows down the evaporation process. The salts that are found throughout Mars form brines with water, mentioned in a study by scientists from South-Western Research Institute, published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
According to researchers, living organisms may exist in this brine. To test this, they created a model based on data on the Martian climate.
The task facing the researchers was to determine the level of saturation of brines with water — the main component of life for living things. Some brines are 40% saturated with water. But this indicator is held only in 2% of the Martian year. And, as a rule, the temperature of the brines remains below the critical level for the existence of life.
This shows that in Martian brines, life, in its usual sense, cannot exist.
Earlier, the Hubble telescope took clear pictures of the decay of Atlas comet. The object was supposed to be the brightest in the last 20 years, but fell apart on approach to the Sun.
In the climate of modern Mars, low temperatures prevail. A drop of water on the planet instantly freezes or evaporates. The presence of salts slows down the evaporation process. The salts that are found throughout Mars form brines with water, mentioned in a study by scientists from South-Western Research Institute, published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
According to researchers, living organisms may exist in this brine. To test this, they created a model based on data on the Martian climate.
The task facing the researchers was to determine the level of saturation of brines with water — the main component of life for living things. Some brines are 40% saturated with water. But this indicator is held only in 2% of the Martian year. And, as a rule, the temperature of the brines remains below the critical level for the existence of life.
This shows that in Martian brines, life, in its usual sense, cannot exist.
Earlier, the Hubble telescope took clear pictures of the decay of Atlas comet. The object was supposed to be the brightest in the last 20 years, but fell apart on approach to the Sun.
