Search for life on Mars.

Part 1: The Search for Evidence of Life on Mars by the Mars Expeditions Strategy Group Chair:

Identification (or Otherwise) of Martian Carbon in Martian Meteorites

Introduction: One of the goals of current martian exploration is to search for evidence of extinct (or even extant) life. In recent years, this goal has been interpreted as a search for evidence of water on Mars’ surface. The success of instrumentation (high resolution cameras and infrared spectrometers) on orbiting spacecraft, coupled with in situ data from the MER rovers have revolutionized o...

Should We Invest in Martian Brine Research to Reduce Mars Exploration Costs?

S ince publication of the first evidence of liquid water on present-day Mars (Martı́n-Torres et al., 2015) according to Curiosity data, scientists have wondered how best to further investigate the presence of brines. Initial evidence was acquired at Gale Crater, near the equator of the planet, a location where this presence of liquid water was highly unexpected. This evidence was later corrobora...

Design of a Biomimetic Walking Mars Explorer for the ESA Bionics & Space Systems Design Contract (AO/1-4469/03/NL/Sfe)

It is the mission of this design team to design a viable Mars explorer with biomimetic inspiration, with specific regard to the locomotion system. The vehicle must have the capability to transport a payload that can aid in the search for life on Mars, as well as provide proof of biomimetic methods in physical and control system design.

A Conversation with Sherry Cady

W as there life on Mars? If so, microorganisms would have left chemical signatures in the rocks, as they have done here on Earth. Astrobiologist Sherry Cady of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is helping NASA Mars mission teams decide where to search for fossilized evidence of life on the red planet. As part of the SETI Institute’s NASA Astrobiology Institute team, she studies Earth enviro...

A Possible Biogenic Origin for Hydrogen Peroxide on Mars: The Viking Results Reinterpreted

The adaptability of extremophiles on Earth raises the question of what strategies putative life might have used to adapt to the present conditions on Mars. Here, we hypothesize that organisms might utilize a water-hydrogen peroxide (H2O-H2O2) mixture rather than water as an intracellular liquid. This adaptation would have the particular advantages in the Martian environment of providing a low f...