A 1.3 billion-year-old Martian meteorite suggests the possibility of life on Mars.
Researchers discovered an unusual "cell-like structure embedded deep within the space rock, the University of Manchester reported.
"In many ways it resembled a [fossilized] biological cell from Earth but it was intriguing because it was undoubtedly from Mars. Our research found that it probably wasn't a cell but that it did once hold water - water that had been heated, probably as a result of an asteroid impact," said Professor Lyon, based in Manchester's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.
The findings are significant because they add to evidence that large asteroids hit Mars in the past and produced long-lasting hydrothermal fields that would have made the Martian surface hospitable to life.
To make the findings Sarah Haigh of The University of Manchester imaged the features in unprecedented detail by using a graphene-based method that revealed atomic layers inside the meteorite. The experimental approach provided new insights into the geological origins of the structure.
"We have been able to show the setting is there to provide life. It's not too cold, it's not too harsh. Life as we know it, in the form of bacteria, for example, could be there, although we haven't found it yet. It's about piecing together the case for life on Mars - it may have existed and in some form could exist still," Lyon said.
These state-of-the-art techniques will be used to analyze secondary materials in the meteorite in hopes of finding bio signatures that proved scientific evidence of life in the Martian past or present.
"Before we return samples from Mars, we must examine them further, but in more delicate ways. We must carefully search for further evidence," Lyon concluded.
The findings were published in the latest edition of the journal Astrobiology.
