Life On Mars: Scientists Believe Large Regions Underground The Red Planet Are Habitable

FOR RENT OR SALE: Large property, offering huge panoramic vistas, idyllic average temperature of 81 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Habitable and available immediately. Full Disclosure: It's actually underground -- and it's on Mars.

While few things could seem more remote, some scientists now believe that the earliest traces of life on Earth originated on Mars -- and parts of that planet are actually more hospitable to life than we previously thought.

Researchers from the Australian National University have determined that very large regions under the surface of the red planet may contain water and have sufficiently comfortable temperatures for Earth-based life -- albeit microbial life.

"We found that 3 percent of the volume of Mars is habitable in terms of having the right temperatures and pressures for liquid water and life," astrobiologist Charley Lineweaver told The Huffington Post by email. "The biggest surprise is that extensive regions of Mars could be habitable in terms of temperature, pressure and water."

Lineweaver is the leader of an ANU team that compared models of the similarities of pressure and temperature conditions between Earth and its nearest planetary neighbor, as pictured below.

"One can get a nice overview of where H20 is liquid, ice and vapor from a pressure-temperature phase diagram," he wrote. "That let us identify and distinguish between inhabited and uninhabited water on Earth, and we were surprised to find a lot of it on Earth."

After they practiced on our home planet, Lineweaver and his team applied the same technique to Mars. "In terms of pressure and temperature, Mars has a large habitable region."

But before we all start packing our bags and signing up for a relocation to Mars, Lineweaver says that this habitable region is most likely underground.

"The current atmospheric pressure on Mars is too low to allow liquid water. Ice just sublimates into vapor. It's hard to drink ice or vapor, and hard to mobilize nutrients in ice or vapor."

And it may be a bit premature to set up housekeeping on the red planet -- even underground -- because Lineweaver's findings don't necesssarily apply to humans.

"Our results are mainly relevant for microbes. However, for warmth, insulation and protection from cosmic rays, and to have enough pressure to keep water liquid, subterranean (or rather sub-Martian) human colonies with abundant water features may be the niche of choice for human colonization," he explained.

Lineweaver is co-author of a paper just published in the journal Astrobiology.

"If evidence for water is found in these environments, then they have a high potential of supporting terrestrial-like life," according to his team's eye-opening conclusions in the scientific journal.

And Lineweaver suggests all of this microbes-on-Mars news may help to solve the age-old question of where we all came from.

"By studying these potential life forms, we could learn fundamental things about life in general and about how we terrestrial life forms originated," he said. "There is also the possibility that we are all Martians in the sense that terrestrial life may have originated on Mars and been transported to Earth during the first half of our solar system a billion years ago."

The astrobiologist added that the bitter cold Martian surface temperature wouldn't be too brutal for humans.

"Think Antarctica," he offered. "Very cold but tolerable if appropriately dressed."

When NASA's next robot rover, Curiosity, lands on the red planet in August 2012, scientists hope it will transmit more positive data back to Earth on the possibilities of water and life on Mars.

WATCH CHARLES LINEWEAVER ON LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE:

Comments

[Adeel Qamar Mirza]

05:02 AM on 04/29/2013

I would rather be surprised by knowing all this stuff to be new to me. http://www.learningquranonline.com/quran-tajweed.htm

[jgdyogiangel]

08:29 PM on 12/19/2011

I love space exploration but I'm not real excited that a few micro organisms live on what is basically a dead planet. Why not go out further and see what is there, planets that actually do support complex forms of life, that intrigues me. The hubble telescope reveals billions and trillions of stars with planets around them, surely one more interesting than mars. I realized it's premature but mars isn't really anyplace I'd like to inhabit or see. Again, it's fascinating but do we really want to spend billions to land a man on mars? I'd rather spend billions to figure out what lies beyond and within our own galaxy.

[OldBear]

01:50 PM on 12/18/2011

Oh goody, another vacation wonderland, travel not included

[bluesdog1]

11:51 AM on 12/18/2011

The Martian theory is interesting. It could explain these antenai that keep popping out of the back of my head during earthling sex. And my ability to change the color of my eyes.

[whodo1952]

03:22 PM on 12/15/2011

I have speculated for years that there may already be a populace beneath the mars surface.
What and how they survive, of course, remains to be seen. Of this I am certain, it isn't Waldo!

[JShankel]

04:24 PM on 12/15/2011

Speculation is not evidence. There is nowhere NEAR enough energy flux on Mars to support a large scale civilization. We would see heat plumes coming from the surface. We have very high resolution broad-spectrum images of the surface...enough to detect minor (ie sub-industrial) emissions of methane. You can't hide completely underground. Waste heat has to go somewhere.

[John Roman]

04:36 PM on 12/15/2011

But if they're not carbon-based and have no thermal footprint....?

[benne841]

05:12 PM on 12/15/2011

Their talking about micro-organisms. One cell or very smal multi-celled plants and animals

[whodo1952]

05:13 PM on 12/15/2011

Absolutely right. This is why my post began with the fact that I speculated and did not state my opinion as fact or proof. You do raise good questions to ponder, albeit based on life forms we are familiar with. Our views on the subject of life are limited at best. Again I speculate, that humanity, with it's arrogant attitudes and behaviors, wouldn't recognize another life form as a life form until they killed it with observation.

[JShankel]

08:29 PM on 12/15/2011

Yeah, but we're pretty sure life will be based on chemistry, and we haven't seen any evidence that anything except carbon can chain with enough variation to create the complex structures required by life. Silicon MAYBE could have some life-like properties, but it would have to be very limited.

[kloua]

02:31 PM on 12/15/2011

this news is 1433 years late

"Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?"
http://quran.com/21

And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.
And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all in an orbit are swimming. [quran: 21:32]

Spending millions of dollars to go up there and find proof of the origins of life, when the Creator has already done humans a favor and sent the proofs down to read in His book, the Quran.
they have left the Quran, a free book, for all mankind to learn about their origins, and instead of feeding the starving people on this planet, they are using the money to search up there.

"and among them are those who listen to you, but We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness. And if they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. Even when they come to you arguing with you, those who disbelieve say, "This is not but legends of the former peoples." 6:25

we already knew the origin of the universe 1433 years ago.

[JShankel]

02:58 PM on 12/15/2011

As you say, we already have the Quran. We don't need to spend millions to read it. So instead we spend the millions gathering evidence that we haven't been given. Pretty sure that if there is a divine creator of the universe, he doesn't want us to just sit around all day reading his book and not exploring this wonderful place he made for us.

[kloua]

04:49 PM on 12/15/2011

that's true He doesnt want us to just sit around all day reading His book, He wants us to read and to act upon it.

while you have a valid point about exploring the universe which He made for us, in my humble opinion, we should prioritize our spending.. much of the money used to explore outside earth could be used to feed the starving people on this planet, rebuild a few broken homes in palestine and other places, clothe the orphans, and educate people so that they don't worship the creation instead of their Creator.

" No! But you do not honor the orphan.
And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor.
And you consume inheritance, devouring it altogether.
And you love wealth with immense love.
No! When the earth has been leveled - pounded and crushed -
And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank
And brought within view, that Day, is Hell. That Day, man will remember, but what good to him will be the remembrance?
He will say, "Oh, I wish I had prepared for my life." [quran: 89]

im pleased that you are sure there is a Creator. i hope that He will continue to guide you. my comment was primarily for those who refuse the evidences that are right here on earth, and are using humanity's money searching for proofs of our origins up in the sky, reading the book costs us all, much less.

God knows best.

[John Roman]

04:48 PM on 12/15/2011

It's a book dude and a religion concocted by man, to control men. That is not liberation; it's the opposite! It is slavery to dogma, dependence on "other people's thoughts", loss of personal choice and of any chance at exploring creation without preconceived ideas. Your religion and most religions, concoct, distort, interpret to suit their own (politicial and social) needs. If you want a "religion" that probes the cosmological - try Hinduism; 6,000 years old and does a far better job at describing creation and planetary movement than anything the Koran's got. In any case; man's only true religion is sitting quietly and observing the passing of time without expectation, without desire, without self.

[kloua]

05:24 PM on 12/15/2011

John if this book was concocted by man, then here is a challenge for you from the Quran:

"Or do they say [about the Prophet], "He invented it?" Say, "Then bring forth a surah like it and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah , if you should be truthful."

basically john, if you think this book was fabricated by a man, then you bring something better than it, and ask your helpers -scientists/poets/etc - to help you produce something better than even just One of its chapters..

go ahead.

there is not a single religion on earth, that actually guides its followers to worship the Creator. Every other religion, especially hinduism, eventually makes its followers worship lifeless idols, and "pictures of gods", which they make with their own hands.
i have not lost my reasoning yet, so i will not worship something i make with my own hands. i would rather worship the One who made me.

btw, islam is much older than hinduism -- islam began with the first man, Adam.

[cbjaws9]

12:13 PM on 12/15/2011

Red vs Blue!!! But in all honesty, we could just send the inmates there.

[JShankel]

02:59 PM on 12/15/2011

Yeah, there are a whole lot of problems with that, not the least of which is that inmates don't tend to be very trainable for astronaut duty, which requires INCREDIBLY disciplined and compliant attitudes and deep scientific and engineering education.

[meritocracy]

12:05 PM on 12/15/2011

So I can't help but wonder, what does David Bowie say about this...?

[richarddesanto]

11:31 AM on 12/15/2011

I am reasonably certain that there is Plenty of life out there...MUCH, Older and more intelligent than us...So Why..?? After looking at Us would they even want to come here...It would be like US going to a Zoo and trying to communicate with the animals there...Or like US looking under a microscope and trying to have a conversation with the Germs That WE see there...There are some systems out there that are Billions of years older than us...I would assume that THEY would be Far More Intelligent than US..If they could overcome the Distance..Why even Bother..???

[JShankel]

03:01 PM on 12/15/2011

We do try to communicate with animals at the zoo. All the time. It's called science. We don't morally judge them for polluting their cages.

[richarddesanto]

11:21 AM on 12/15/2011

I am sorry, But, I am not the least bit interested in what happened here a billion years ago or what may happen in another billion years...Am more concerned with the Present, Jobs, Food and Housing Prices, My Tax Bill....TO ME, Thats the Real World

[JShankel]

03:01 PM on 12/15/2011

The present comes from the past. Understanding, for example, how climates work might just, you know, help us grow food.

[kloua]

08:25 PM on 12/15/2011

insha-Allah, God willing.

[Nancype]

09:24 AM on 12/15/2011

Obama would look good leading that planet. Just get him off this one!

[fehc]

09:50 AM on 12/15/2011

heads up 4 u- tampa is cancelled and gop candydate convention is being moved to the red planet ( u may have missed this - was going to be announced by da Duck but da debate was cancelled -theory behind mars -was a better location because color of planet matched color of vote tally maps and besides witches can throw their support to their favorite candydates ( w/o gravitational restrictions of earth ( sorry about reference to science))

[lopsidedly]

09:13 AM on 12/15/2011

going to mars would create lots and lots and lots and lots of jobs.

[kloua]

08:26 PM on 12/15/2011

insha-Allah, God willing.

[Denis Higgins]

09:04 AM on 12/15/2011

The RED planet, eh,,,as opposed to the dreaded Blue one? ( Sounds good! )

[Jim Fay]

08:59 AM on 12/15/2011

What percentage of Earth have we made, or is naturally, "unihabitable"? Perhaps humanity is in an infinite loop between the two planets. Moving from one to another as each is destroyed?

[JShankel]

03:03 PM on 12/15/2011

Humanity is 200,000 years old. Mars has been a dead world for over a billion years. Also we have very strong fossil evidence that humanity evolved on this planet and that there were once many human primate species. We also have no archeological evidence whatsoever that an interplanetary spacefaring civilization has ever existed here or on Mars. And the surface of Mars is much, much older than humanity, so any civilization buried out of view on Mars would have to be much, much older than that.

[kloua]

08:49 PM on 12/15/2011

man you are making statements about the universe as though you run the show!

"humanity is 200,000 years old".
"mars has been a dead world for over a billion years!"

where do you get these figure from?

unless God told you, i think you should quote scientists' estimates with a bit more humility, they are only human - their estimates are no more than calculated guesses, so take it easy, please.

[kloua]

08:55 PM on 12/15/2011

at least say, "we think", but God knows best.

[joannevlavender]

08:59 AM on 12/15/2011

Why do I keep visualizing the opening scenes from Blade Runner...a whole new life opens for you in an off-earth colony where you can get a fresh, new start. Be the first on your block to head out for a place that, when you get there, is less than what you had at home, with no way back if you don't like it there.