Search for life on Mars leads to Newfoundland, Canada

An outcrop of 500-million-year-old rock in Western Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park, already a famous tourist attraction, is now the focus of the search for life on Mars.

A research team composed of scientists from Memorial University (located in St. Johns, NF), Carnegie Institution for Science, East Carolina University and NASA

"have discovered water in the Newfoundland rocks, teeming with microbial life that they hope is similar to what might live on the “Red Planet.”"

Team leader, Dr. Penny Morill, an Earth Sciences Researcher from Memorial told press that the life forms found on the rock known as the Tablelands will lead researchers to their ultimate goal: finding life on Mars. The microbial life forms found will give the researchers an insight into what life on Mars could be like - or was like. Dr. Merrill told press that

“Planetary and space exploration is thriving and Canada is playing a leading role in this initiative.”

The type of rocks found at the Tablelands are rare, and there are only four other places on earth where these rocks can be found. What makes the rocks special are their high levels of iron and magnesium, which give the rocks their reddish colour. The rocks come from the Earth's mantle and their chemical make-up is similar to that of Martian meteorites that have landed on Earth. The chemicals in the rocks react with water, in a process that is called Serpentinization. Morrill told Memorial's on-line news, today.mun,

“The serpentinization reaction produces hydrogen gas and groundwater with high pH values similar to that of household bleach. Hydrogen gas is very energy rich for microorganisms, but not every microorganism can live in these high pH conditions.”

What makes all this important is that the microbacteria found at the Tablelands are living in conditions similar to those believed to be found on Mars. Methane, found on Mars in 2004, is thought to indicate the presence of life on Mars because Methane is created by biological (think cows) and geological processes (think coal, volcanoes). Canada has a collaborative initiative with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency to study certain earth systems, such as permafrost, because of their similarity with the environments presumed to be found on planets such as Mars or Saturn. The Canadian Analogue Research Network is based out of McGill University's Arctic Research Station on Axel Heiberg Island. The University of Waterloo, located in Kitchener, ON is home to an Earth Sciences newsletter, What on Earth.