The experiment ascended to the edge of space and then fell back to Earth, simulating the atmosphere of Mars. **Thales Alenia Space.
A school science experiment is answering a question outside of this world. While there are concerns that any evidence of organic matter on Mars could be overshadowed by the geology of Mars, new research suggests that may not be the case.
A group of budding young researchers helped show how to find evidence of life on Mars.
Students from St Bernard's Abbey High School at Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex assisted scientists from the Natural History Museum and University College London in conducting an experiment to understand what evidence any potential ancient life might have left on the Red Planet.
Alumni of this girls' school include Dame Helen Mirren, and students prepare samples of a microbial mat that are flown to the edge of space by balloons to simulate conditions on Mars. This allows researchers to examine any changes that the cold, dry atmosphere causes to signs of life.
Connor Ballard, a PhD student who led the study, said, "We wanted to involve students in as much of the study as possible, and they were very engaged throughout.
We know that science lacks diversity, so it's a joy to be able to work with these young women. I know a lot of them want to pursue a career in science, so we really hope this will help them in the future.
Dr. Louisa Preston, a scientific assistant at the Museum of Natural History and co-author of the book, added: "It's amazing for these young women to have a ** with their names on it to celebrate their work.
It's really important to involve kids in science, so we hope this inspires other students as well.
The findings have been published in the journal Research Notes for AAS.
Since the 1990s, six rovers have successfully landed on the surface of Mars to learn more about our neighboring planets. Many of these missions try to answer the big question – was there ever life on Mars?
It's not as quirky as it seems. While humans cannot survive on the surface of Mars, there are many microbes on Earth who will find its carbon dioxide-rich, dry atmosphere very hospitable.
Hopefully, if it ever existed, life on Mars would leave some traces in the form of physical or chemical markers known as biosignatures. But recognizing these signs can be tricky. High levels of radiation, extreme temperatures, and Martian weather may have damaged or obscured these markers, making them difficult to detect.
To explain this, researchers want to know what signs are left behind when biometrics break down. The research team was particularly interested in the effect that plaster cast might have on these signs.
On Earth, this mineral is found in dry lakes, and it is thought that on Mars, this mineral may have preserved the organic molecules of any life that could live in any liquid water. But there's something wrong with that.
While plaster may be good at preserving organic matter, it can also make them harder to find," Connor explained. "Working in infrared, the problem is that many of the core features of gypsum have absorption signatures that mask organic peaks in the spectrum. It's a bit like Catch-22.
In collaboration with the students, the team decided to use the collections of the Museum of Natural History to simulate signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.
To simulate any potential Martian biosignatures, the team faced two challenges: finding representations of life on Mars, and simulating conditions on Mars.
If life exists on Mars, it is thought that it may exist in the form of microbial mats. These are collections of bacteria and other microbes that have created some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth, so it's not unreasonable to assume that life on Mars may have followed a similar path.
As part of her research, Luisa has been studying samples of microbial pads from the Natural History Museum's collection.
I've been studying microbial pads collected during the discovery expedition led by polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott in the early 1900s," she says. "The mats are well preserved and, despite their age, still show strong biological characteristics. ”
This makes them a good choice to use here, and I think Robert Falcon Scott would be delighted that his expedition samples would still break new ground more than a century later.
Now that they've found their ** people, the team needs to simulate the conditions of Mars. To solve this problem, Luisa and the team turned to a company called Thales Alenia Space, which has been launching weather balloons since 2014 to bring school science experiments to the edge of space.
By bringing specimens to the edge of space, it is hoped that they will be able to experience conditions similar to those found on the Red Planet.
With the balloon launch, the school's students were able to mix tiny samples of microbial pads with plaster in different proportions, and then seal the samples into plastic containers. Half remained on Earth as a control, while the others were lifted to about 30 kilometers above Earth and then safely parachuted to the ground.
The returned sample is then scanned using infrared spectroscopy, a technique used to identify the composition of a sample by observing how the sample absorbs infrared radiation. Scans of control samples revealed that the higher levels of gypsum in the mixture masked the biological signatures in the microbial pad.
However, for samples that have already reached the edge of space, it is a different story. Exposure to high altitudes causes the plaster to dry out, which means that some aspects of the mat are highlighted in the results analysis.
This suggests that Martian rovers equipped with infrared spectrometers on Mars, such as NASA's Perseverance and Curiosity, should be able to detect biofeatures even if kept in plaster.
Connor hopes future tests will reveal how other minerals affect biometric detection, giving researchers the best chance of finding any signs of organic material on Mars.
More information: Connor JBallard et al., Testing the Limits of Biometric Detection in Calcium Sulfate Mixtures by Simulating the Martian Environment, AAS Research Note (2023). doi： 10.3847/2515-5172/ad103f