Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Fossil Martian Bacteria or Algae

re: Fossil Martian Bacteria or Algae
Keith Cowing — (archived)

If putative Martian unicellular organisms are of the same size (roughly) of terrestrial unicellular organisms then the microscopic imager on the Mars rovers is several orders of magnitude away from being able to image individual cells or clusters of cells - if they indeed exist. That doesn't mean such fossils do not - or cannot exist - just that this Rover most probably won't see them directly.

If, however, large amalgamations of microorganisms formed fossiliferous structures such as stromatolites (as they do on Earth) then the rovers would most likely see these structures and allow humans on Earth to be able to infer, in part, the existence (at one point in time ) of putative microorganisms on Mars. Spectroscopic analysis could add corroborative data as well, of course.

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