A frozen ocean may be the best chance of finding life on Mars if it exists, according to a team of British scientists. This ocean was detected by the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe in a Martian region believed to be the site of violent volcanoes.

This area is just about the size of the North Sea, according to the researchers at the University College London. They suggest that water may have seeped through the fissures and could have carried microbes with it when it froze over 5 million years ago.

The researchers said that if the microbes existed they were fairly well protected from the intense UV radiation that strikes the planet. By calculating the amount of radiation hitting Mars as well as the effect it would have on microbes on earth, the scientists indicate that Martian microbes may be buried as deep as 7.5 metres.

"What we really want to find are cells we can thaw out, feed up and grow in the lab. The long-term survival [prospect] of cells is much better in this frozen sea in Elysium than anywhere else we've seen," said lead researcher Lewis Dartnell. The relevance of the current study means that future probes may concentrate on this area named Elysium. This is located just north of the equator on the red planet.

The current study appears in the latest issue of the Geophysical Research Letters.

Be first to comment this article

Write Comment

Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
E-mail
BBCode:
Comment:
Code:*
	I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4