NASA recently released an article, detailing how conditions on Mars were once suitable for ancient life, and still may be, to some extent. You can find the article here.
Essentially, the article talks about how samples collected from NASA’s Curiosity rover show sulphur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and carbon, which are some key ingredients for life. Furthermore, they have found Earth-like microbes and the rover has collected rock samples. Within the rock samples they have also found sulphates and sulphides that indicate a possible chemical energy source for microorganisms. The most notable discovery is that scientists at NASA have identified a grey zone, which is a zone in Mars where conditions were once favourable for life.
This is important because there have been many discussions recently in the international community regarding habitability on other planets, and Mars is the first and foremost planet up for consideration. Because of how close it is relative to other galaxies, it’s numerous similarities to Earth in relation to size, temperature, etc., the fact that we have now found elements that are staples for human life act as a prerequisite for extraterrestrial habitability. Furthermore, the grey zone indicates that there may have been or be extraterrestrial life, and if not, this zone would be the first and foremost zone for humans to arrive on Mars.
There has been lots of work put into exploring Mars that has allowed this revelation to come to light. While humans have not visited Mars yet, numerous rovers have explored Mars, and while previously there was a lot of inferences and speculation regarding the habitability, know we have some proof. A lot of work and experimentation was required in the development of the rover: Curiosity. After this, there was the difficult process of sending it out into space and eventually it reaching Mars. In addition, humans from Earth control it, and while some of its capabilities are automatic, much of it has to be done with care and precision.
There are a few applications of the discoveries, such as extraterrestrial habitability, a basis for other research on Mars or other planets, knowing requirements and where to create infrastructure on Mars for self-sustainability, and the exploration of other extraterrestrial life forms on Mars. These may not be the aliens we see in movies, but bacterium or other microscopic life forms. Within the article, we see how there are also signs that imply there may been a water source at one point. This acts as a prerequisite to extraterrestrial life, human habitation, etc. Extraterrestrial habitability is the most notable and obvious application, as human habitability on other planets is becoming more of a reality by the day. The rover, Curiosity, has yet to complete its two-year research period on Mars, and thus NASA will be getting more research results. More research is going to be conducted in the Yellowknife Bay area of Mara, as well as Gale Crater’s central mound, Mount Sharp, which are both quite different areas from the other parts of Mars the rover has so far explored, such as the grey zone. These other areas will help in the planning phase of development for humans on Mars, something that was already covered.
While the impact of this discovery may seem small, it is in fact astronomical, as this is the first major step in the journey of extraterrestrial habitability. This discovery provides reassurance and motivation to the people behind programs pertaining to humans on Mars, such as the Mars One program, which hopes to send four people to Mars around 2024, and then two more people every year.