A ‘smiley face’ has been discovered on Mars- and scientists sat it could contain traces of extraterrestrial life.
The face, composed of two circles and a line inside a circle, can only be seen under infrared light and is thought to be the remnants of an ancient lake which dried up billions of years ago.
The image was shared on Instagram by the European Space Agency (ESA), which has been monitoring the levels of methane and gas on Mars since 2016.
In a caption accompanying the face, the ESA said: ‘Once a world of rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans, Mars now reveals its secrets through chloride salt deposits found by our ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.
‘These deposits, remnants of ancient water bodies, could indicate habitable zones from billions of years ago.
‘The discovery of nearly a thousand potential sites offers new insights into Mars’ climate and potential for past life.’
A research paper about the discovery was published in the journal Scientific Data on August 3, in which researchers said the deposits are important because they can ‘provide optimal conditions for biological activity and preservation.’
This makes them ‘a prime target for astrobiological exploration’, they added.
The salty deposits were left behind as the last water disappeared from Mars’ lakes at the end of the planet’s ‘dynamic aqueous past,’ researchers wrote.
In some locations the leftover salts are the only evidence that water ever existed, and as the lakes dried up, the high salt levels would have prevented the water from freezing and been the very last bastion for any microscopic life which would have clung to life as the surface of Mars underwent its transformation.
If this happened, the salts could also have acted like a preservative, potentially keeping the evidence of these extinct lifeforms intact for billions of years.
A ‘smiley face’ has been discovered on Mars- and scientists sat it could contain traces of extraterrestrial life.
The face, composed of two circles and a line inside a circle, can only be seen under infrared light and is thought to be the remnants of an ancient lake which dried up billions of years ago.
The image was shared on Instagram by the European Space Agency (ESA), which has been monitoring the levels of methane and gas on Mars since 2016.
In a caption accompanying the face, the ESA said: ‘Once a world of rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans, Mars now reveals its secrets through chloride salt deposits found by our ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.
‘These deposits, remnants of ancient water bodies, could indicate habitable zones from billions of years ago.
‘The discovery of nearly a thousand potential sites offers new insights into Mars’ climate and potential for past life.’
A research paper about the discovery was published in the journal Scientific Data on August 3, in which researchers said the deposits are important because they can ‘provide optimal conditions for biological activity and preservation.’
This makes them ‘a prime target for astrobiological exploration’, they added.
The salty deposits were left behind as the last water disappeared from Mars’ lakes at the end of the planet’s ‘dynamic aqueous past,’ researchers wrote.
In some locations the leftover salts are the only evidence that water ever existed, and as the lakes dried up, the high salt levels would have prevented the water from freezing and been the very last bastion for any microscopic life which would have clung to life as the surface of Mars underwent its transformation.
If this happened, the salts could also have acted like a preservative, potentially keeping the evidence of these extinct lifeforms intact for billions of years.
The discovery is not the first time a face has been discovered on Mars- nor is it the second. The Galle Crater, located on the east of the planet, is often referred to as the ‘happy face crater’ due to its strong resemblance to a smiley face.
The ‘Face of Mars’, a rock formation which looks like a spectral face from certain angles, was also photographed by the Voyager 1 probe in 1976.
Initially sparking speculation about extraterrestrial structures, later high-resolution images revealed it to be a natural mesa shaped by erosion.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE : Man accidentally finds an ancient meteor crater on Google Maps
MORE : How did Jared Isaacman, billionaire behind first-ever private spacewalk, make his money?
MORE : A fiery satellite will plummet back to Earth this evening
Get your need-to-know
latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
