Abstract
The main interest in Mars from the point of view of astrobiology is centered on the fact that in the past this planet may have been hospitable to life. The details of the search for life on Mars shall be discussed briefly in this chapter.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes and References
Bonner, W. A. (1991) The origin and amplification of biomolecular chirality, Origins of Life and the Evolution of the Biosphere 21, 59–111.
Carr, M. H. (1999) Mars: surface and interior, in P. R. Weissman, L.-A. McFadden and T. V. Johnson (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Solar System, Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 291–308.
Cf. Glossary: “pyrolysis”, “gas chromatography” and “mass specrometer”; cf. also Soffen, G. A. (1976) Scientific results from the Viking Mission, Science 194, 1274–1276.
McKay, C. P. and Stoker, C. R. (1989) The early environment and its evolution on Mars: Implications for Life, Reviews of Geophysics 27, 189–214; McKay, C.P. (1996) Oxygen and the rapid evolution of life on Mars, in Chela-Flores, J. and Raulin, F. (eds.),. loc. cit., Preface, ref. 18, pp. 177-184.
Oró, J. (1996) Cosmic evolution, life and man, in Chela-Flores, J. and Raulin, F. (eds.). (1996) loc. cit., Introduction, ref. 18, pp. 3–19.
Hartman, H. and McKay, C. P. (1995) Oxygenic photosynthesis and the oxidation state of Mars, Planet. Sci. 43, 123–128.
Kobayashi, K., Sato, T., Kaneko, T., Ishikawa, Y. and Saito, T. (1996) Possible formation of carbon compounds on Mars, in 11th International Conference on the Origin of Life, Orleans. Book of Abstracts, p. 61.
Farmer, C. B. and Doms, P. E. (1979) Global seasonal variation of water vapor on Mars, J. Geophys. Res. 84, 2881–2888.
The reader is referred to Table 1 in the following paper for references to the original literature: Sleep, N. H. (1994) J. Geophys. Res. 99, 5639–5655.
Farmer, J. D. (1997) Implementing a strategy for Mars Exopaleontology, in R. B. Hoover, (ed.), Instruments, Methods and Missions for Investigation of Extraterrestrial Microorganisms, The International Society for Optical Engineering, Washington, Proc. SPIE 3111, pp. 200–212.
Cf. Glossary: “plate tectonics”, “magnetic anomaly patterns”, “sea-floor spreading”; cf. also Kerr, R. A. (1999) Signs of plate tectonics on an infant Mars, Science 284, 719–720; McKay, C. P. (1998) The search for extraterrestrial biochemistry in Mars and Europa, loc. cit. Introduction, ref. 19, pp. 219-228.
Haynes, R. H. and McKay, C. P. (1995) Designing a biosphere for Mars in Chela-Flores, J.,M. Chadha, A. Negron-Mendoza, and T. Oshima (eds.), Chemical Evolution: Self-Organization of the Macromolecules of Life, A. Deepak Publishing, Hampton, Virginia, pp. 201–211.
Head III, J.W., Hiesinger, H., Ivanov, M.A., Kreslavsky, M.A., Pratt, S.,and Thomson, B.J. (1999) Possible ancient oceans on Mars: Evidence from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter Data, Science 286, 2134–2137
Sims, M.R. et al (1999) Beagle 2: a proposed exobiology lander for ESA’s 2003 Mars Express Mission, Adv. Space Res. 23, No. 11 1925–1928.
Westall, F. et al. (2000) An ESA study for the search for life on Mars, Planet. Space Sci. 48 181–202.
White, R. J. and Averner, M. (2001) Humans in Space, Nature 409, 1115–1118.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chela-Flores, J. (2001). On the possibility of biological evolution on Mars. In: The New Science of Astrobiology. Cellular Origin and Life in Extreme Habitats, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0822-8_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0822-8_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-2229-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0822-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive