As the UAE’s Hope spacecraft continues its journey to Mars, an Abu Dhabi-based scientist has proposed that there could be underground life on the Red Planet.
The bombardment of Mars by high-energy particles called galactic cosmic radiation could power subsurface life, according to Dr Dimitra Atri of New York University Abu Dhabi.
Observations indicated there is underground ice and salt water on Mars, suggesting the “less harsh” subsurface environment, perhaps two metres down, could host life even if there was none above ground.
The presence of micro-organisms below the surface of Earth is another factor pointing to the possibility of underground life on Mars.
“A few years ago there was a discovery in South Africa in a gold mine about 2.8 kilometres deep. There’s a bacterium that lives off radioactivity,” said Dr Atri.
It's literally alien life. There's a possibility, there's a likelihood
Using water and sulphur found underground, and powered by naturally occurring radioactivity from uranium minerals, the bacteria produce chemicals they use as food.
Dr Atri said micro-organisms beneath Mars’ surface could be doing something similar, living underground because the present-day thin atmosphere of Mars is not conducive to life.
“[Life] may have originated, and over a period of time the atmosphere eroded, the place became more hostile, the water bodies mostly disappeared,” he said.
“We don’t understand the mechanisms of how life originates. It’s extremely difficult to say whether it can originate there. We don’t know how the chemistry transforms itself into biology. That’s the big unknown of our age.”
Dr Atri, a research scientist in NYUAD's Centre for Space Science, has published his ideas in the journal Scientific Reports.
His paper was released after the launch earlier this month of the UAE’s Mars orbiter, which is scheduled to reach the Red Planet early next year before carrying out observations on the atmosphere.
Dr Atri’s hopes of testing out his ideas are pinned, however, on the forthcoming mission of the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover.
Produced by the European Space Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation, this six-wheeled vehicle is expected to be sent into space in 2022 and to reach Mars the following year.
It will drill down below the surface of Mars, potentially uncovering micro-organisms living underground.
"This is super exciting. This is a new idea, it's never been tested, it can't be tested on Earth because such conditions can't be found here," said Dr Atri.
"It's literally alien life. There's a possibility, there's a likelihood. We've seen in very dry deserts, the Atacama [in Chile] and other places you have organic life."
The presence of life in Earth’s deep biosphere – an area extending many kilometres below the sea and land surfaces – has led other researchers in recent decades to suggest that there might be life below the surface of Mars.
Dr Atri said what distinguished his ideas was the significance of cosmic galactic radiation in powering the metabolism of the microorganisms.
UAE Mars Mission:
NO OTHER LAND
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
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4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
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1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
