Life on Mars: China believes it has discovered potentially inhabited Martian caves

A team of international scientists, the majority of them Chinese, has just published a very intriguing discovery concerning the possibility of Martian life. According to them, there are a number of caves whose characteristics are ideal for preserving life.

Their study focused on a Martian region called Hebrus Valles, an area also selected by NASA among 47 others for a future human exploration mission to the red planet. Hebrus Valles is an area approximately 300 km in diameter where lava and water have flowed in the past. The scientists used data from the Mars Global Surveyor (NASA) Thermal Emission Spectrometer.

“Karst” caves are geological structures created by the dissolution of rocks, for example limestone, by water. A remarkable manifestation of these structures on Earth are the Mexican cenotes.

Such formations are likely to preserve water in a liquid state, protect against sandstorms, extreme temperatures and their variations, as well as radiation.

The team presents a map of eight potential karst wells that they call “skylights” because they are openwork. Here is a document from their scientific publication:

“These skylights are interpreted as the first known potential karst caves on Mars, representing collapse entrances formed by the dissolution of water-soluble lithologies – defining a new class of cave formation distinct from all previously reported volcanic and tectonic skylights”, conclude the researchers.

They add: “TES data indicate the presence of carbonate-rich substrates at all skylight sites, with additional sulfate enrichment in several locations – mineralogical conditions analogous to terrestrial karst systems”.

Could life have inhabited these caves and would there be traces of it?

Of course, this study only shows places newly identified as suitable for life. It still provides no proof that it has developed there or that it persists there. However, and as the scientists note in their document:

“These results not only expand the conceptual framework of subsurface vacuum evolution on Mars, but also identify Hebrus Valles as a compelling candidate for future robotic and human missions.”

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