LIFE may be hiding much deeper beneath the surface of Mars than anyone
thought.
Current plans for Martian exploration are focused on shallow depths, where
conditions are comparable to some terrestrial environments. But Abel
Méndez of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo has found another
potentially habitable zone.
Next week he will tell an international conference on Mars in Pasadena,
California, that the average temperature and pressure 5 kilometres underground
on Mars match those 5 kilometres beneath the surface of terrestrial oceans,
where simple bacteria are relatively common.
Any life that emerged in Mars’ past may have taken refuge deep undergound.
“If this deep zone has water and a geothermal energy source, it may be a good
environment for microbial life,” says Méndez.
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