The reason for being unable to find signs of life on Mars may not be because of the samples but because of the instruments used. The Daily Mail reports that this was uncovered by researchers from the Autonomous University ot Chile.
Testing the Instruments Used To Detect Life on Mars
Their study was included in the Nature Communications journal. Though the equipment was seen to identify biosignatures within the samples, it was barely possible to locate these marks using the current technology of the rover. Such findings suggest that the lack of findings may be due to the instruments and not the samples itself.
CNN reports that the scientists visited the Atacama Desert of Chile, which is considered the oldest desert and driest place in the world. It has also been considered a Mars analog for specialists.
The team examined the Red Stone in northern Chile in order to compare it with Mars' Jezero Crater. They found out that it was smaller and made of clay, sandstone, and hematite, which is the iron oxide that explains the red hue of Mars.
They gathered samples and examined them with sensitive lab tools. When the equipment was pushed to its limits, the analysis showed a combination of biosignatures that were from living and extinct microorganisms. Even if the area is extremely dry, Red Stone is actually close to the ocean. This is where fog rolls in order to offer the water necessary for microbial existence.
Several of the DNa sequences were from a dark microbiome that was unidentifiable. It was termed that way because of its similarity to the universe's dark matter.
The researchers examined the red planet further by testing four different instruments that were designed to examine it. They did so with the samples that they gathered. Despite how sophisticated the instruments were, they could hardly pick up molecular marks. This showed that the tools lacked the sensitivity to precisely pick up biosignatures within samples.
The Need for Better Tools
Ever since the first Vikings reached Mars during the 1970s, there have been dedicated missions to find life signs on the planet. While the advanced instruments of subsequent rover missions were able to pick up simple molecules, these molecules could have resulted from chemical reactions that are not linked to existence.
CNN reports that if life indeed existed on the planet billions of years ago, there should only be low levels of organic matter remaining. This also shows how difficult it is for current technology to detect signs of life on the planet.
Lead study author and research scientist Dr. Armando Azua-Bustos from the Center of Astrobiology in Madrid states that the chances of getting false negatives stress the need for better tools.
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