In an effort to help determine the chances of survival of life on Mars, scientists have proposed that techniques that are used to drill for oil could prove useful in estimating the odds of survival on the Red Planet.
Professor John Parnell from the University of Aberdeen and his team of researchers have proposed this method. The team has just returned from the Arctic where they were involved in studying a meteorite crater using methods for detecting oil and gas. The site that they were studying happens to be the 23-million-year-old Haughton meteorite impact site in the Arctic. This site is located in the Canadian High Arctic and is a project undertaken by NASA via Ames Research Center and the Mars Institute.
The researchers used oil-drilling techniques and found traces of ancient organic matter in the crater. They reached the conclusion that the rocks in the crater were not subjected to temperatures high enough to melt the evidence of life, which was there when the space rock fell to Earth, and hence they were still able to find some traces.
"Working in this remote uninhabited terrain gave us a great opportunity to do detailed sampling where the rocks have not been contaminated by man or covered by vegetation. However, the snow and ice are only melted for a few weeks each year, so we just had a brief window when the work has to be completed, "Professor Parnell said. He added that the Haughton data suggested that in moderate-sized craters, biomolecules, fossilized remains and even microbial life might have survived.
Therefore the team has recommended these techniques to be employed on Mars to find similar evidence since the planet has been repeatedly bombarded by asteroids and meteoroids and is consequently covered by giant craters.
Details of the study can be found in the May edition of Geology, which is published by the Geological Society of America. Meanwhile, Professor Parnell believes that this innovative technology would enable researchers to take advantage of a new source of information about the history of life on Earth, and potentially on other planets as well.
