Just like David Bowie , many astronomers keep inquire “ Is there life on Mars ? ” Since the former exploration of the Red Planet , we have been try on to find signal of living organisms or at least evidence of past life sentence , but as we have limited resources it ’s well to know where to look . And a new study might now narrow the search a scrap .
Published inScientific Reports , the study suggest that if constitutional material is on Mars , it might not be able to survive meteorite impact . allot to the researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh , only some of the organic material incase in stone can survive such blasts .
The researchers simulated an impact from a meteorite of around 10 meters ( 33 base ) in size and looked at what character of organic compound could defy the extreme weather condition of a clap . retentive hydrocarbon chain of mountains find in germ would be destroyed , but mote known as redolent hydrocarbons ( often find in flora matter ) would survive the impact .
The field of study also suggests that the organic material present on meteorite , which is not created by survive being , could endure the blast .
" The study is serve us to see that when constitutive matter is observed on Mars , no matter where , it must be think whether the sample distribution could have been impress by the pressures consort with bang impacts , ” co - author Dr Wren Montgomery said in astatement . “ We still take to do more work to understand what factors may play an authoritative part in protecting organic compound from these bam impacts . However , we consider some of the factors may include the depths at which the careen records are buried and the angles at which meteorites strike the Martian surface . "
Drilling on Mars is expensive and limited by how deep a probe or rover can physically get to . Using blow sites has been seen as a convenient alternative to study deep stone that might not have been exposed otherwise . But this research has exhibit that clap sites have also arrive drawbacks .
The study , though , can serve next commission to the Red Planet by indicate the honest locations to set ashore , and even what character of blast stone could be hiding the long - sought piece of evidence that Mars used to host aliveness .
