Mars and Life and Clay

Yet another possible indication of ancient life on Mars has been found. Of course, this is not definitive proof but it is just so exciting to think about the numerouse forms of life that Mars could have supported!

Image from http://www.terradaily.com/reports/What_Do_You_Call_A_Microbialite_999.html

Scientists from the Australian National University have recently published a paper to show that early microbes are able to form a mineral outer layer to protect themselves, forming what is known as microbialites as seen in the above picture. This clay-mineral, called stevensite, was first formed around microorganisms billions of years ago, making them the first large-scale eveidence of life on Earth and are even found today in certain regions off the coast of Australia. Due to their hard exterior and 'soft' interior, they can be compared to coral reefs and the size of these microbialites are also comparable to that of coral reefs.

What then, does this have to do with Mars? The answer to this question is of course, that stevensite can be found on Mars! This could very well mean that similar life forms to Earth once existed on ancient Mars and created these Martian 'microbialites'*. Similarly, this could be a yay for people who believe that life on Earth came from Mars through Martian asteroids carryinf Martian life. However, the researchers at the University noted that these stevensite deposits were most likely a result of volcanic activity instead of biologically. Don't cry, panspermia advocates, I'm sure there will be a lot more evidence to suggest so :)

So what do you think about this finding? To me, it is but another proof that life once existed on Mars but were sadly wiped out when Mars' core cooled, removing its magnetic field and thus shield against the Sun's solar winds, stripping away its atmosphere and thus killing life. Also, what do you then think will change about our psychology and view of life if life is found on other planets? Comment your answers below and do share this post if you liked it!

Thanks for reading!

*Note that these stevensite minerals found may not be in structures similar to the microbialites found in our oceans and since it hasn't been shown that there were microbes within, they should not be called microbialites.

Reference:

Australian National University. (2014, May 20). Mars mineral could be linked to microbes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 20, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140520100529.htm