Scientists believe that, more than 4,000 million years ago, there was life on Mars. The main reasons are the abundant liquid water and the pleasant temperatures that once existed. Now a new study reveals that the same life that existed on the red planet was the cause of its own extinction.
Research from the University of Arizona indicates that, through the creation of various computer simulations, experts believe that life that developed on the inner planet farthest from the Sun, millions of years ago, caused the planet to be disabled.
This study does not conclude whether or not there was life on Mars, as insisted SciTechDailycited in Vandalbut it does offer possibilities about the conditions of that primitive ecosystem, collapsed in time, but which had an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
Average temperatures cooler than on Earth and liquid water leaves as a result the possible existence of methanogenic microbeswhich were able to adapt to climate variations.
Details about these microorganisms
The report details that these extremophile microorganisms exist in volcanic sources on the seabed of our planet and are capable of living in extreme conditions.
Because they extract their energy source from hydrogen and carbon dioxide and metabolize it by excreting methane, they are able to reside anywhere.
On Mars, these beings had to seek refuge in the depths due to temperatures, in order to stay alive.
Boris Sauterey, a researcher at the Sorbonne University in Paris and lead author of the study, explained: “According to our results, the atmosphere of Mars changed very rapidly as a result of this biological activity, probably in a few hundred or thousand years. By consuming hydrogen from the atmosphere, microbes progressively cooled the planet’s climate”.
The study suggests that, due to the excretion of methane in large quantities by these microbes, the Martian crust gave way, altering the climate. The overwhelming proliferation of Martian microorganisms caused a climate change that triggered a mass extinction.