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NASA Chief Says 90% Chance of Proving Ancient Life on Mars
Lab tests found amino acids can survive more than 50 million years in pure ice, strengthening the case for ice-rich Martian sites in future life searches.
- Researchers from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Penn State found that amino acids trapped in pure water ice survive 50 million years of cosmic radiation, recommending future Mars missions prioritize ice-rich deposits to detect biological material.
- These findings follow 2024 exploration by NASA's Perseverance rover, which discovered nickel concentrations up to 1.1 percent in Neretva Vallis bedrock, offering evidence of ancient habitable environments on the Red Planet.
- Published in the journal Astrobiology, the study revealed amino acids in soil mixtures degraded 10 times faster than in pure ice, confirming ice as an ideal preservation medium for biological material.
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman estimated a 90 percent chance of proving ancient microbial life if samples return to Earth; Christopher House noted future missions require powerful drills to access subsurface ice.
- The Europa Clipper mission will leverage these findings during 49 close flybys of Jupiter's moon Europa, assessing whether subsurface environments beneath the ice can support life and preserve organic compounds.
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Pakistan Live NewsCould there be life on Mars? NASA Jared Isaacman claims chances are 90%
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman has dropped a big claim regarding the discovery of ancient life on Mars. In a recent interview with Benny Johnson, Isaacman has pointed to the universe’s vast...
NASA study finds ancient life could survive 50 million years in Martian ice
Mars’ frozen ice caps may be time capsules for ancient life. Lab experiments show that key building blocks of proteins can survive tens of millions of years in pure ice, even under relentless cosmic radiation. Ice mixed with Martian-like soil, however, destroys organic material far more quickly. The findings point future missions toward drilling into clean, buried ice rather than studying rocks or dirt.
Strong nickel enrichment co-located with redox-organic interactions in Neretva Vallis, Mars - Nature Communications
In 2024, NASA’s Perseverance rover explored Neretva Vallis, an ancient river channel that once transported water into Jezero crater. There, the rover encountered Mg-poor mudstones with diverse alteration features. In 32 rock targets in Neretva Vallis, nickel (Ni) was detected by the SuperCam instrument with concentrations in individual rocks as high as ~1.1 weight percent – the highest abundance ever seen in bedrock on Mars. In this work, we des…
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