Almost every month, the press writes about the adventures of the Curiosity rover, which finds hydrous minerals in rocks and other evidence that could indirectly confirm the existence of life on Mars in the distant past. But from the point of view of direct evidence of the presence of the Martians, the rover only scratched the surface of the Red Planet.
This was stated by geochemist Ian Amend of the University of Southern California. Amend spoke at the Space Telescope Science Insititute in Baltimore on April 5.
The Curiosity drill has penetrated, at best, only a few centimeters into the crust of Mars. Amend believes that the life of the Red Planet is hiding deep under the crust, a kilometer or more from the dead orange surface. Even if ancient rivers and lakes on Mars have evaporated, it is highly likely that there is a significant amount of liquid or frozen water in the planet's interior.
Amend's laboratory is studying the microbiological chemistry of ocean hydrothermal vents. NASA recently donated funds to its astrobiology team for experiments to search for life deep in the bowels of the Earth in order to better study the possibilities of such a search on neighboring planets and moons. After all, under the crust of the ocean, it turns out, life literally boils and pleases with its diversity.
The project will also involve scientists from Caltech, JPL, the Japan Geosciences and Technology Research Agency, and a number of other US institutions.
It is believed that a third of the carbon biomass is trapped under the earth's crust. The team will have to descend much lower than the sedimentary rocks at the bottom of the earth's oceans into porous rocks to find life. The scene - the bottom of the center of the Atlantic Ocean - is more than two and a half kilometers below the surface of the water. More “Martian” conditions require diving into mines half a kilometer deep, such as in Death Valley in California.
This region beneath the deserts of Earth is almost as alien as Mars - but much more accessible. It is completely unknown how many lifeforms are hiding in pitch darkness under a rocky surface under conditions of high pressure and low nutrient medium.
“We are confronting frontier biology in search of new organisms,” says Amend.
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The idea of an underground biosphere was widely covered in Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth. Perhaps inspired by Charles Darwin, Verne described how his geologists found prehistoric life forms deep underground. Now the underground life of our planet will help scientists find life in other worlds.
Over the next five years, Amend will launch two-meter torpedo-shaped probes called SEAL into a well in the shaft of the mine. His task will be to search for any organisms that live deep underground. They are deliberately called "intraterrestrial".
The technologies for detecting new life being developed by researchers deep in the biosphere may be the forerunners of what will be sent to the moons and planets of tomorrow. These include miniature ultraviolet microscopes to detect luminescent creatures.
The probes will search for microbes, collect data to analyze them, and try to grow them in situ (as was the case with the Viking Mars experiment in 1976). Other samples will be sent to the laboratory for analysis. The ultimate goal of research is to find out as much as possible about the range of conditions in which life can develop.
Among the microorganisms found in these studies are firmicutes, spore-forming bacteria that can survive in extreme conditions. But the most curious of all is the desulforudis audaxviator microbe, which lives almost 1.5 km deep. This organism is one of the few that can survive without sunlight, oxygen or organic compounds. It has lived for millions of years thanks to chemical food sources that are derived from radioactive decay.
“This organism always has everything it needs,” notes Amend. "It breaks down water into hydrogen and oxygen for metabolism."
This bacterium is the only one at this depth. Its DNA is 99% represented by one species. It looks like she will feel at home on Mars.
But to get to such deep-sea inhabitants on Mars, you need to deliver a drilling rig to the Red Planet. Perhaps in the future, this will become the main goal of manned missions to Mars.
On the other hand, if humans never get on with space tourism, perhaps one day a brawny robot with artificial intelligence will bring the rig to Mars, assemble it, and be its own explorer and team.
Another complication is that on Mars, the drill will not be able to overcome the pressure of mud, water or even gas to clear itself of debris. Engineers will have to develop new techniques for clean drilling. The Mars drill needs an efficient method of keeping the hole open without the use of heavy steel materials.
As an alternative method, they put forward the creation of a series of robots that will bite into the rock, crushing it.
In 2007, NASA discovered something similar to the entrances to underground caves on Mars. They are located on the slopes of the Arsia Mons volcano, which is 30 times the size of Hawaiian Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on Earth. These labyrinthine burrows can open the way to underground voids. And if Verne lived in the 21st century, he would have the opportunity to write a sequel to his novel entitled Journey to the Center of Mars.