Galactic Radiation Erases Hopes For Alien Life On Mars; Organisms In Icy Europa Moon More Likely?

Alien life signs in the solar system could be a lot more difficult than what researchers had imagined due to the damaging effects brought about by radiation. In two different studies, both show that galactic radiation will swiftly degrade biological material on the surface of Mars and the Jupiter's moon Europa, as both are the main targets of the search for extraterrestrial life, past and present.

Although alien existence on Mars is considered by scientists to be unlikely, several researchers are hoping to discover strong evidence that will indicate that Martian life existed in the past. Such evidence would be the fossilized microorganism or biological molecules like the amino acids. To determine the likelihood of molecules staying on Mars and Europa,  NASA's planetary scientist Alexander Pavlov and his team prepared a test to find out how amino acids endure doses of radiation that are the same to those discovered on Martian surface. They discovered that radiation degraded the amino acids in as little as 50 million years.

The chances for finding alien life signs in hydrated minerals close to the Martian surface are not wide, according to the researchers. Despite of the presence of cold temperatures that slow down the process of degradation, it is still not enough for a long-term preservation. Over 80 percent of amino acids are destroyed for doses of one megagray similar to 20 million years. Pavlov admitted that with such results, finding for some ancient biomarkers would be a big problem, Daily Mail reported

However, there is a chance that fresh surface ice deposits may still have biomarkers, which that scientists can successfully find as life. This means determining if Europa indeed spouts plumes, bringing fresh materials to the surface is very significant.

The hunt for alien existence will remain a challenge, but they have not entirely given up on the cool world, given all the information acquired. For some in the research team, this could be a sign that there was no life at the surface, although they still hope that the evidence of alien organisms is found beneath the ice instead, according to Daily Mail.