Life Has Already Become Possible on Mars, Let’s Find Out
Mars is now cold, barren and rocky, but evidence suggests the magnetic field may have existed as long as 3.9 billion years ago, compared with previous estimates of 4.1 billion years ago – making the Red Planet a perfect environment for life. A new study by researchers at the Paleomagnetic Lab in Harvard’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences claims that Mars’ magnetic field, which could have supported life, may have existed for much longer than previously thought.
Scientists looked at basins on Mars and concluded that the craters formed when the Martian dynamo was undergoing a polarity reversal, which also happens on Earth every few hundred thousand years. The study, published in Nature Communications, is the most compelling case yet made for Mars’ alleged ‘life-rich’ history. The researchers used simulations and computer modelling to estimate the age of the Martian “dynamo,” or global magnetic field produced by convection in the planet’s iron core, as it does on Earth.
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A new study by researchers at the Paleomagnetic Lab at Harvard’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences claims that its magnetic field, which could have supported life, may have lasted much longer than previously thought. Although Mars is now cold, barren and rocky, evidence suggests the magnetic field could have lasted as long as 3.9 billion years, compared with previous estimates of 4.1 billion years – making the Red Planet a prime candidate for a rich environment for life.
The study, published in Nature Communications, makes the most compelling case yet for Mars’ alleged ‘life-rich’ history. The researchers used simulations and computer modelling to estimate the age of the Martian “dynamo”, or global magnetic field produced by convection in the planet’s iron core, just like on Earth.
