Mars as a compelling target in the continuing search for signs of ancient extraterrestrial life
Whitepaper #211 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: habitability and water; life and prebiotic organics; Mars
by Andrew Czaja, Andrea Corpolongo, Andrew Gangidine, Briony Horgan, Linda Kah, Jeff Osterhout, Steve Ruff, Svetlana Shkolyar, and Jon Zaloumis
Published onMar 18, 2021
Mars as a compelling target in the continuing search for signs of ancient extraterrestrial life
This white paper documents the need to continue our search for ancient life on Mars. Whether or not we find evidence of life with upcoming missions, more work will be needed. We will need to target a broader range and distribution of paleoenvironments on Mars, define a full catalog of biosignatures, and develop new instruments for future missions.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
