Once Upon An Ocean

Once Upon an Ocean

Mars probably won’t be habitable anytime soon, but scientists still remain hopeful about the planet’s life-carrying potential.

Recently, a study in Nature Geoscience suggested that pockets of salty water with enough dissolved oxygen to support life may rest under Mars’ surface, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

Researchers used computer models to determine the possible existence of these brine puddles and their ability to support microorganisms.

In the best-case scenario, the models suggested the puddles could have enough oxygen to support complex organisms like sponges. Even in the worst-case scenario, bacteria could thrive.

“There are so many abiotic ways of creating small but sufficient amounts of oxygen which then, at the colder temperatures, can be absorbed effectively and could actually maybe trigger evolution in a different way than we got on the Earth,” lead author Vlada Stamenković told Space.com

Judging by landscape features and manganese oxide that must have formed on the surface in wet, oxygen-rich conditions, scientists hypothesize that oceans covered Earth’s neighbor billions of years ago.

The team cannot yet prove the existence of the briny puddles, or if they hold any life, but the researchers plan to further test their results.

For now, it’s just a theory.