Life might be inherently self-destructive.
, and it details how simple microbes that fed on hydrogen and excreted methane were likely abundant on Mars roughly 3.7 billion years ago. This was at approximately the same time that the earliest life was forming in Earth's oceans.In a fascinating turn, Mars' life created an environment that was not conducive to the evolution of more complex life forms. At the same time, on Earth, a completely different story was unfolding.
Their computer models simulated the ancient atmosphere and lithosphere of Mars while adding hydrogen-consuming microbes similar to those found on Earth at the earliest stage of evolution on the planet. Ultimately, the scientists found that the same microbes that gradually produced methane on Earth to warm the planet actually cooled Mars instead. This drove them deep under the red planet's crust in search of warmth for survival.
Ancient Mars was richer in carbon dioxide and hydrogen than Earth, and it would have needed these warming gasses to form a habitable environment for early life forms. Instead, scientists believe the early microbes started stripping hydrogen from the atmosphere and replacing it with methane. This served to slow down the warming greenhouse effect required — especially as Mars is further from the Sun than the Earth and is naturally cooler.
"We don't see that on Earth because our planet's atmosphere is not as rich in carbon dioxide as that of Mars used to be," they added. "So the microbes essentially replaced a more potent warming gas, hydrogen, with a less potent warming gas, methane, which would have had a net cooling effect."The study also explains how Mars's surface temperature will have dropped to below minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit .
Initially, the microbes will have been able to survive just below the Martian surface. Sauterey and his team have identified three locations where they believe Mars exploration missions may find traces of these ancient microbes. One of these locations is
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Ancient Mars microbes triggered climate change that made it hard for them to surviveTereza is a London-based science and technology journalist, aspiring fiction writer and amateur gymnast. Originally from Prague, the Czech Republic, she spent the first seven years of her career working as a reporter, script-writer and presenter for various TV programmes of the Czech Public Service Television. She later took a career break to pursue further education and added a Master's in Science from the International Space University, France, to her Bachelor's in Journalism and Master's in Cultural Anthropology from Prague's Charles University. She worked as a reporter at the Engineering and Technology magazine, freelanced for a range of publications including Live Science, Space.com, Professional Engineering, Via Satellite and Space News and served as a maternity cover science editor at the European Space Agency.
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