Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has always been the center of attention for everyone and scientists have sent countless missions to the planet in hopes for uncovering its mysteries.
As per several studies, Mars has long been considered a place where ancient microbial life once existed.
Recently, a new NASA study conducted by a group of scientists found that these microbes could possibly survive under the frozen layers of water ice found on the surface of Mars.
Scientists suggest that the amount of sunlight that would shine through the water ice would be enough for microbes to easily perform photosynthesis.
The team used computer modeling to make their proposal, noting that similar pools found on Earth contain algae, fungi and microscopic cyanobacteria and all of which performs photosynthesis.
Lead author Aditya Khuller of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said in a statement, “If we’re trying to find life anywhere in the universe today, Martian ice exposures are probably one of the most accessible places we should be looking.”
Interestingly, there are two different types of ice that have been found on Mars, which include, water ice and frozen carbon-dioxide but scientist however keep their focus on water ice.
It is believed that this large amount of water ice was formed during Martian ice ages when snow mixed with dust and formed into ice.
However, scientists are not sure whether this ice can melt in Mars’ thin and dry atmosphere.
Scientists now plan to recreate the dusty Martian water ice in laboratories to figure out where the shallow water pools could exist on Mars, which allow the entry of both robots and humans on Mars.
