Simplifying the Search for Life on Mars

A group of students from St Bernard's Convent High School in the UK assisted scientists in an experiment to simulate the conditions on Mars and examine the effects of the planet's atmosphere on potential signs of ancient life. The experiment involved flying samples of microbial mats, a proxy for Martian life, to the edge of space in a balloon. The results showed that the presence of gypsum, a mineral found on Mars, could obscure biosignatures but exposure to high altitude caused the gypsum to dry out, making certain aspects of the microbial mat more detectable. This suggests that rovers equipped with infrared spectrometers could potentially detect biosignatures even if preserved in gypsum, making the search for signs of life on Mars easier than previously thought.