Asteroid Impact on Mars Possibly Caused Microscopic Life to Phobos Billions of Years Ago

Aubrey Clarke Aug 16, 2021 08:25 AM EDT

Phobos, Mars' biggest moon, may contain traces of ancient life that perished on the Red Planet billions of years ago, preserving it in pure form.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronomers believe that several asteroid impacts on Mars over time may have moved material off the planet and transported it to its moons.

Phobos, which is just 9,377 kilometers from Mars than the farther away Deimos, is more likely to have picked up debris from its home planet, per NASA.

The moon is not habitable. It lacks oxygen, water, and its surface is continually exposed to cosmic radiation that would kill any microbes. However, any extinct life from Mars that migrated there would be less likely to have been disrupted by other forces.

Both Phobos and Deimos resulted from a catastrophic collision between Mars and another planet-sized object, Independent said.

Phobos, Deimos Smaller Than Usual

Dr. Ryuki Hydo, who is conducting the research, told DailyMail that Phobos is exceptionally unusual in its position to the host planet, Mars. He added that Phobos orbits very near to Mars, ~3 Mars radius.

Space.com said that Phobos and Deimos are small compared to our own moon, measuring just 7.5 miles and 14 miles wide, respectively.

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Hydo said that the Earth's moon orbits at ~ 60 times the radius of the Earth by comparison. If Mars has ever had life on it, researchers said that it might be readily transported to Phobos without the need for a large impact on Mars.

The Sterilized and Harshly Irradiated Genes, and Ancient Imprints (SHIGAI) dead biosignatures on Phobos might contain sterilized microbes and possible DNA fragments, according to JAXA. In a description of the research, scientists Ryuki Hyodo and Tomohiro Usui characterize the moon as a "perfect natural laboratory."

MMX To Examine Mars' Phobos, Gather Samples

The Jezero crater on Mars, which is supposed to represent an old lake site, is regarded as a potential harbor for extinct life. Scientists believe that biosignatures found in crater samples might also be found on Mars' surface. That is something they will learn more about when the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) space probe debuts in 2024, Digital Trends said.

MMX probe intends to gather a sample of over 10 grams from the surface of Phobos and bring it to Earth in 2029. Experts will then examine the samples for a "fingerprint" of Martian life.

There is also the chance that Mars never had life at all. Still, even if that is the case, these missions are crucial in figuring out why such a close planetary neighbor has so little activity compared to Earth.

According to Dr. Hyodo, it is also possible that dead remains on the surface of Phobos or Deimos decayed over time.

The lack of life on Mars might be because it developed into a completely different environment than Earth, such as being farther from the Sun and having a colder atmosphere.

Dr. Hyodo went on to say that the early surface temperature or composition might have made it difficult for a life-form to arise. Their study was published in Science, 'Searching for Life on Mars and its Moons.'