First Martian life likely broke the planet with climate change, made themselves extinct

Climate change may have led to the extinction of ancient life on Mars.

The theory is based on a climate modeling study that shows how long ago Mars was inhabited by hydrogen- and methane-Producing Microbes. The atmosphere was similar to that on ancient Earth. According to a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Mars may have doomed itself just as it was getting started if it hadn't been for an environment that would have helped them thrive.

The gas compositions of the two planets and their relative distances from the sun are thought to be the reasons life flourished on Earth and was doomed on Mars. Mars relied on a potent fog of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen, to keep it warm. As ancient Martians ate hydrogen and produced methane, they slowly ate into their planet's heat-trapping blanket, eventually making Mars so cold that it couldn't evolve complex life.

Evidence of past life on Mars may have been wiped out.

The microbes fled deeper and deeper into the warmer crust of the planet as the surface temperature dropped from a comfortable range to a punishing minus 70 F.

The researchers want to find out if any of the ancient microbes are still alive. Satellites have detected methane in the atmosphere of Mars, as well asalien burps, which could be evidence that the microbes are still alive.

According to the scientists, life may not be innately self sustaining in every environment it pops up in, and that it can easily wipe itself out by accidentally destroying the foundations for its own existence.

Boris Sauterey is an astronomer at theInstitut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. It is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 The inability of life to live on the surface of the planet causes it to go extinct very quickly. Our experiment shows that even a very primitive biosphere can cause self-destructive effects.