Life on Mars less likely, say Yorkshire scientists

And now academics in Hull believe they are closer to solving the riddle, and their findings may disappoint those hoping to find evidence of life on the red planet.

Scientists from Hull University and Utrecht University in Holland conducted a series of experiments to determine ancient water flows on Mars, and found that water that could support life was much less available than previously thought.

The research, based at Hull Unversity’s Total Environment Simulator at The Deep, recreated a range of possible ancient environmental conditions which have left their remnants on the planet’s fossilised surface. These deep canyons and expansive fan-deltas of sediment are the features over which NASA’s Curiosity Rover is currently travelling and investigating.

Professor Dan Parsons, of Hull University, said: “There is consensus that water once flowed over the surface of Mars. What is not known – and hotly debated – is how wet and how long this was for. This is hugely important because the longer water is around in an available form, the more complex life can develop.

“The experiments we have conducted demonstrate how catastrophic water outflows, such as those from pressurised underground springs, could have formed features on the Martian surface billions of years ago, as opposed to water flowing on the surface or from intense rainfall.

“This provides evidence that water on Mars could have been much more periodic and consequently the time available for life to develop was more limited than currently thought.”

The findings were presented at the European Geosciences General Assembly in Vienna earlier this month.