Scientists have located an area on Mars which could be a promising place for indications of life.
A news release issued by the University of Texas at Austin reveals that the unusual depression “was probably formed by a volcano beneath a glacier and could have been a warm, chemical-rich environment well suited for microbial life.”
The release also quotes Joseph Levy, one of the authors of a resulting study, as saying, “We were drawn to this site because it looked like it could host some of the key ingredients for habitability — water, heat and nutrients.”
It is located within a crater around Mars’ Hellas basin. Levy first noticed the area in 2009 because it seemed to have cracks resembling Earth’s ice cauldron formations which are created by volcanic activity below an ice sheet.
This year, his team analyzed the depression and found that it was likely not caused by a colliding asteroid but by a volcano because of a pattern indicating melting ice and a lack of debris.
With its potential for liquid water and nutrients, Levy thinks it could be a place to look for life on Mars going forward.
