Landslides On Mars Might Not Be Sign Of Life After All
When scientists found what looked like a landslide on Mars, they thought they stumbled upon evidence that water, and therefore life, might have existed on Mars in the past. However, recent studies show that this probably isn't the case. It looks like we're not any closer to extraterrestrial life yet (but there's still hope).
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In space, water is more precious than gold. Life isn't possible without water, so finding water, or signs that water once existed, is the holy grail of interplanetary studies. Scientists researching the Red Planet found massive landslides and long ridges that looked similar to the ones we have on Earth. Up until now, the evidence suggested that these features were caused by the prescence of ice underground, as this is how such formations are created on Earth.
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However, a new investigation suggests that this is not the case. Using three dimensional scans of the region the sciensts were studying, they tested the possibility that ridges and landslides could be created by a landslide moving at high speeds, rather than by the movement of ice below the ground's surface.
These studies found that, yes, it is possible, and probable, that the land forms, which are around 400 million years old, were produced by material tumbling down from high mountains. An unstable, rocky surface could cause rocks to travel up to 200 miles per hour, carrying materials over vast distances and forming ridges and landslides.
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This means that ice is not a prerequisite for the formation of such landforms on Mars, leaving the residents of Earth alone in the universe - for now.
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