The answer is a little more complicated than you might think, because life has never been a simple concept.
Does life on Mars exist? We still don’t know yet. Even though Mars is still a planet filled with water and oxygen as it was before the Sun was destroyed, we don’t know if life exists there.
But there are some things we know for sure about Mars. First, on Mars there is liquid water on the surface (although not drinkable). Second, organic molecules – the most likely products of life – have been found on the Red Planet.
And more recently, we located a huge water source here. It is a 20 km wide lake on the southern tip of Mars, under a layer of ice about 1.5 km thick.
It is this latest discovery that has made many people – both experts and ordinary people – wonder if this means Mars also has life? And isn’t it the only lake on the planet?
The shortest answer is always … no one knows. There are, however, a number of possibilities that we can foresee.
Life is not necessarily what we imagine
From what has been confirmed, the southernmost region of Mars is difficult to experience because the conditions are so extreme. But at the same time, the amount of water here can be similar to groundwater on Earth. And according to popular beliefs: where there is water, where there is life, even if it is salt water, contaminated water, frozen water or water. water that has almost reached the boiling point.
At this point, science has evolved to the point that it allows us to identify life at the microbial, even viral level. We have found microorganisms that stick right next to a hydrothermal tube at the bottom of the ocean – where the temperature is extremely high. They get their energy from sulfur and survive even when subjected to terrible radiation every day.
We found algae in very strong atmospheric winds – apparently blown by a volcano. Even life exists in very deep caves. And viruses don’t have to be said, they exist everywhere.
Even in Antarctica, which seems to be the most isolated, the biosphere under the permafrost is impressive there. In short, life can exist anywhere, in any form, except in impossible areas like in lava.
Of course, we have never found life anywhere other than on Earth. It also means that science assumes that life evolves, evolves and adapts on a single pattern. But that’s enough to see that life is extremely flexible, there is always a way to survive.
If life had sprouted on Mars and somehow evolved like it did with Earth, we will find it. Unfortunately, at this time, there is no real evidence.
Well maybe nothing up there. But remember, life existed in places where conditions were worse than the frozen lake on Mars. So hope is still there, right?
