New perspective in the search for biomarkers on Mars and other planets
The news that NASA has chosen a new technology to search for life on Mars opens up new prospects for the exploration of the Red Planet and the search for answers to questions about the possible existence of life in space.
NASA, SpaceX and the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) have announced plans to send astronauts to Mars in the coming decades. These missions, planned for 2030-2040, will provide a basis for scientific research, including studying the geological evolution of Mars and the possible existence of life.
One of the main problems that scientists will face — providing crews with access to water. This means that future settlements on Mars will need to be located near accessible water sources. In addition, scientists will have to explore areas under the surface of Mars where there is the greatest likelihood of finding life, if it exists there.
One of the projects that attracted the attention of NASA, — is Agnostic Life Finding (ALF), developed by the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution with the participation of biochemist Stephen Benner. The goal of the ALF project is to simplify astrobiological research on Mars before crews arrive. It also addresses several assumptions made at the 2019 NASA conference.
At the conference, scientists concluded that there is reason to believe that life on Mars could have arisen based on the same organic chemistry as on Earth. Perhaps Martian life still survives in the icy crust, at low altitudes and in caves. It is also suggested that Martian life must be based on information polymers similar to DNA.
The ALF project proposes using a new system to search for signs of life on Mars. Experts believe that information polymers such as DNA could play an important role in detecting life on the planet. These may represent a reliable biomarker and are potentially concentrated in Martian water.
A recent study by Stephen Benner and his team challenges current approaches to the search for life on Mars. According to previous papers by scientists John D. Rummel and Catherine A. Conley of the SETI Institute and NASA, there are some shortcomings in plans to search for evidence of life on Mars.
One of these shortcomings is associated with financial restrictions that do not allow achieving the required degree of cleanliness of spacecraft. Katherine A. Conley notes: «Maintaining the required level of cleanliness of spacecraft is a daunting task with high costs».
In addition, scientists are raising the question of the possibility of identifying life based on nucleic acid sequences. John D. Rummel points out the significant risks associated with this method: «The assumption that life can be identified from nucleic acid sequences contains many assumptions, especially if these sequences are obtained from areas possibly contaminated with life from Earth& ;raquo;.
Based on these findings, Benner and his colleagues conclude that discovering existing life on Mars does not appear to be a “high priority.” Benner notes: «The goal of our project is to change this point of view before the crews arrive».
Researchers propose using local resources when planning missions to Mars. They especially highlight the importance of the icy crust of Mars. As stated in their work: “Fuel (methane and oxygen) will be obtained from local water and atmospheric carbon dioxide for the return journey back to Earth.” It is also noted that the mined icy crust will contain settled dust, which will make it possible to conduct a detailed study of the surface of Mars for potential signs of life.
In their work, Benner and his colleagues describe an analytical laboratory system on the surface of Mars that offers the ability to extract molecular structures consisting of a sequence of nucleotides or nucleic acids. These polymers, such as DNA or RNA, are capable of containing the genetic information necessary for life and the transmission of hereditary properties of organisms. As scientists note, the system will serve as an important tool for preliminary exploration of Mars before the arrival of human missions.
According to Stephen Benner: «The use of the ALF system will enable scientific research that will set a lower limit to the available biomaterial on the surface of Mars and will do this before human presence on the planet.» Benner and his team believe that the use of local resources and new research methods play an important role in achieving the goal of human presence on Mars. This opens up new horizons for research and analysis of possible forms of life in the Universe.
As Banner and his team summarized, the system will be useful on other celestial bodies that humanity hopes to explore for life (and inhabit) in the future. «ALF will do this before Homo sapiens becomes a multi-planetary species. And "multi-planetary" — correct definition. This system can be used on all celestial bodies where water will be produced to search for and analyze life, both local and alien, similar to Earth or alien. Including Europa, Enceladus, the Moon and exotic places on Earth», — they wrote.