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Liquid water habitats on early MarsAlthough the Viking results may indicate that Mars has no life today, the possibility exists that Mars may hold the best record of the events that led to the origin of life. There is direct geomorphological evidence that in the past Mars had large amounts of liquid water on its surface. Atmospheric models would suggest that this early period of hydrological activity was due to the presence of a thick atmosphere and the resulting warmer temperatures. From a biological perspective the existence of liquid water by itself motivates the question of the origin of life on Mars. From studies of the Earth's earliest biosphere, we know that by 3.5 Gyr ago life had originated on Earth and reached a fair degree of biological sophistication. Surface activity and erosion on Earth make it difficult to trace the history of life before the 3.5 Gyr timeframe. If Mars did maintain a clement environment for longer than it took for life to originate on Earth, then the question of the origin of life on Mars follows naturally. Based upon simple models of the evolution of the Martian climate, we divide the history of liquid water habitats on the Martian surface into four epochs based upon the atmospheric temperature and pressure.
Document ID
19920019257
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Mckay, Christopher P.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Davis, Wanda L.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Inst., Papers Presented to the Workshop on the Evolution of the Martian Atmosphere
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
92N28500
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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