A strangely shaped depression on
Mars could be a new place to look for signs of life on the red planet,
according to a new study. The depression was probably formed by a volcano
beneath a glacier and could have been a warm, chemical rich environment well
suited for microbial life. Researchers were drawn to this site because it
looked like it could host some of the key ingredients for habitability – water,
heat and nutrients. The depression is inside a crater perched on the rim of the
Hellas basin on Mars and surrounded by ancient glacial deposits. In 2009,
researcher noticed crack-like features on pictures of depressions taken by the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that looked similar to “ice cauldrons” on Earth,
formations found in Iceland and Greenland made by volcanoes erupting under an ice
sheet. Another depression in the Galaxias Fossae region of mars had a similar
appearance. These landforms caught researchers eye because they’re weird
looking. They’re concentrically fractured so they look like a bulls-eye. That can
be a very diagnostic pattern we see in Earth materials. The interaction of Lava
and ice to form a depression would be an exciting find because it could create
an environment with liquid water and chemical nutrients, both ingredients
required for life on Earth.
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