Although no life form has yet been discovered on the planet Mars, a German astrobiologist believes that research carried out by NASA in the 1970s could have been destructive. In other words, if there was life on the red planet in theAt the time, this research could have destroyed it.
Searches for destructive microbial life on Mars
For the moment, no exploration of the planet Mars has led to the discovery of any form of life. While the research is currently continuing, a publication in the journal Nature Astronomy on September 27, 2024 looks back at events that took place in the 1970s. The author of the document, astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch, from the Technical University from Berlin (Germany) mentioned the Viking program of the American Space Agency (NASA). Launched towards Mars in 1975, the Viking 1 and Viking 2 probes will become the first American spacecraft on Martian soil. However, Dirk Schulze-Makuch hypothesized that these searches for microbial life were destructive (obviously if Mars actually harbors life).
Arriving in 1976, the two probes had several objectives, one of which was to carry out tests on Martian soil. The goal? Discover biosignatures, in other words traces of molecules which reflect the presence of life. The astronauts notably used a gas chromatography device coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), which led to the discovery of chlorinated organic compounds.
After the experiment, officials attributed the discovery of chlorinated organic compounds to a contamination by cleaning products. On the other hand, it was later proven that these compounds were indeed of Martian origin, although their creation remains a mystery. Indeed, no one knows whether these are the result of biological or non-biological processes. The purpose of the chromatography device was to heat the samples in order to separate the materials they contained. However, this action could have burned the expected organic substancesas explained in a study published in the journal JGR Planets in 2018.
Other unsuitable experiences
Dirk Schulze-Makuch also mentioned other inappropriate experiences which could also have destroyed possible evidence: the marked release experiment and the pyrolytic release experiment. The first was to infuse the samples with water, before testing the results for possible evidence of metabolism. For the second, the process was the same, but this time its objective was to discover evidence of photosynthesis.
However, these infusions were perhaps poorly thought out, because at the time, humans thought that life on Mars must be like that on Earth and thus required the presence of water. Later it was proven that life could also thrive in very dry conditions and that water releases could have drowned the potential microbes instead of just hydrating them.
For the German astrobiologist, it is therefore appropriate to return to Mars in order to carry out another life detection mission there since today, the understanding of the Martian environment is much better.
