FORGET scanning the skies for alien life — they are probably lurking underground on Mars, researchers say.
Rocks beneath the Red Planet’s wind-swept crust have a perfect chemical balance to support life when combined with water.
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Researcher Jesse Tarnas, of Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Lab, said: “We don’t know whether life ever got started beneath the surface of Mars but, if it did, we think there would be ample energy there to sustain it right up to today.
“The big implication for subsurface exploration is that wherever you have groundwater on Mars, there’s a good chance you have enough chemical energy to support life.”
In recent decades, scientists have discovered that Earth’s depths are home to a vast population of creatures separated from the world above.
Lacking sunlight, these animals survive by a process called radiolysis — using the by-products of chemical reactions produced when radioactive elements within rocks come into contact with water.
The latest findings come from analysis of Martian meteorites, which were found to be similar in composition to Earth’s rocks.
The Martian rocks were found to have all the elements needed for radiolysis while being porous enough to trap water.
Previous research has also found evidence of an active groundwater system on Mars.
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Researcher Jack Mustard, of Brown University in the US, said drilling beneath the surface of Mars would not require heavy-duty equipment and could be done by small probes.
He said: “If we want to think about the possibility of present-day life, the subsurface is absolutely going to be where the action is.”
More evidence to back up the theory may come from Nasa’s Perseverance Rover which is drilling into the surface of Mars, helped by its miniature helicopter Ingenuity.
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