Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Astronomy, no. 72, p. 5-9 (2025)
ABOUT LIFE IN “DRY RIVERS” OF MARS
Anatoly VIDMACHENKO, DSc (Phys. & Math.), Prof.
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0523-5234
e-mail: avidmachenko@gmail.com
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine,
Main astronomical observatory of NAS of Ukraine
Yuliana KUZNYETSOVA, Researcher
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7750-4395
e-mail: juliana@mao.kiev.ua
Main astronomical observatory of NAS of Ukraine
Abstract
The presence of long valleys, resembling dried-up riverbeds on Earth, should indicate that once upon a time there were conditions on the surface of Mars under which liquid water could exist. Now water in various states is located under the surface of the planet. Areas under the surface could be a kind of oases for possible biological activity. Therefore, they, together with clay-covered areas of Mars, can be a promising place to search for traces of life. The Mars rover “Spirit” was sent to the Gusev crater with a diameter of 180 km located near the equator. The channel of an ancient river flows into this crater. In the past, this crater could have been a lake. The Mars rover “Opportunity” descended into the Eagle crater, located near the equator on the opposite side of Mars from the Gusev crater. An increased concentration of hematite, which on Earth is formed only in an aqueous environment was found there. The main mission of the Perseverance rover is to search for signs of modern bacterial life on Mars, or for its past existence. Observations using spectral instruments on the Perseverance rover have shown that organic molecules have been found in some rocks and in fossilized mud. They are the basis of all life on the planet. There is many evidence that from 3.5 to 2.5 billion years ago, a powerful hydrosphere existed on Mars. Measurements by the Curiosity rover have allowed us to indicate the volume of water lost by Mars. The data obtained have led us to conclude that Mars was not just covered in water in the past but could also retain it in liquid form for hundreds of millions of years. A study of the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in its atmosphere has led us to conclude that greenhouse gases could retain water in liquid form. Greenhouse gases were quite capable of warming Mars enough to provide a stable climate for millions of years. This allowed conditions to be maintained for chemical evolution, a stage that precedes the emergence of life.
Key words
Mars, polar cap, dry river, water, organics, perchlorates.
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