NASA scientists believe life could exist beneath icy surface on Mars as a result of photosynthesis.
In a new paper published in the Nature Communications Earth & Environment, the scientists explained that there are ‘subsurface pools’ beneath frozen water on Mars, where sunlight is allowing photosynthesis.
Could water ice on the Martian surface hide microscopic life below?
Ecosystems found within Earth’s icy regions are inspiring scientists to ask new questions: https://t.co/uaT5fe67s0 pic.twitter.com/oUrYPB9uje
— NASA Mars (@NASAMars) October 17, 2024
On Earth, pools of water beneath ice have been found teeming with algae, fungi, and microscopic cyanobacteria which derive their energy from photosynthesis.
According to the paper’s lead author, Aditya Khuller of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, photosynthesis might be resulting from the dust particles trapped in the ice. Dark dust particles trap more sunlight and allow melting of the ice from within. This process could be happening nine feet below the surface and in the tropical regions between 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude, in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
“If we’re trying to find life anywhere in the universe today, Martian ice exposures are probably one of the most accessible places we should be looking,” Khuller said in a statement.
Co-author Phil Christensen of Arizona State University explained that this phenomenon is common on Earth. “Dense snow and ice can melt from the inside out, letting in sunlight that warms it like a greenhouse, rather than melting from the top down,” he said.
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In 2021, Khuller and Christensen published a paper explaining how the gullies on Mars, which formed by erosion caused by the ice melting to form liquid water, have dusty snowpacks.
In the new study, experts said that the shallow subsurface pools of water are being prevented from evaporating and being protected from harmful radiation by upper layers. They proved through computer modeling that enough sunlight is reaching the subsurface pools to enable photosynthesis. Khuller is now planning to create simulated conditions in a lab for further investigation.
Meanwhile, other scientists are mapping other shallow meltwater regions on Mars that could be potential targets for future human and robotic missions.
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(Image: NASA)
