Is There Life On Mars Today And Where

Is there Life on Mars Today - and Where? PRESS RELEASE DATE March 16, 2020 CONTACT Rebecca McDonald, Director of Communications SETI Institute 189 Bernardo Ave., Suite 200 Mountain View, CA 94043 Figure 1. Mars Biosphere Engine. a, The zonally averaged Mars... More

Is there Life on Mars Today - and Where? PRESS RELEASE DATE March 16, 2020 CONTACT Rebecca McDonald, Director of Communications SETI Institute 189 Bernardo Ave., Suite 200 Mountain View, CA 94043 Figure 1. Mars Biosphere Engine. a, The zonally averaged Mars elevation from MOLA8 shows how rmcdonald@seti.org the formation of the planetary crustal dichotomy has driven hydrology and energy flux throughout media@seti.org geological times, creating both conditions for an origin of life, the formation of habitats, and dispersal pathways. While conditions do not allow sustained surface water in the present day, recent volcanic activity and subsurface water reservoirs may maintain habitats and dispersal pathways for an extant biosphere. The origin(s) of methane emissions remain enigmatic, their spatial distribution overlapping with areas of magma and water/ice accumulations at the highland/ lowlands boundary. b, Young volcanoes in Coprates Chasma, Valles Marineris estimated to be 200- 400 milli Less