When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.Credit: ESA/ATG medialabIs there life on Mars … in clay? Scientists think that the minerals in clay could be the key to finding signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.The European Space Agency is still working toward launching its ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars to search for signs of life. And, according to a statement from the space agency, the rover is now aiming to land at Oxia Planum, a depression on the Martian surface where it’s thought that water was once plentiful. There, scientists think that they might find major clues in the hunt for life in the basin’s clay, according to a new paper.AdvertisementAdvertisement”We will use the instruments on board to ground truth the discoveries made from orbit, learn about the ancient environment in which they formed, and if they preserve any evidence of Martian life. Warmth and nutrients on an early martian seabed could have provided habitats for early life,” ExoMars deputy project scientist Elliot Sefton-Nash added in the statement.Scientists have spent years searching for signs that life once existed on Mars. It’s thought that water on Mars evaporated around three billion years ago, but before then the planet likely had a more substantial atmosphere and water flowing in rivers and into lakes all across its surface. Because of the planet’s history, many scientists think that it’s most likely that at some point in the ancient past, the planet must have supported life. While this has yet to be confirmed, last year scientists found what is currently thought of as the strongest possible biosignature, or physical evidence of life, on Mars.This image, captured by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the location of clay on Mars. | Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechIn a new study, researchers have found extensive clay deposits at Rosalind Franklin’s proposed landing site. They found this clay to reach roughly 186 miles (300 kilometers) outward from Oxia Planum, stretching as far as a Martian valley called Mawrth Vallis. To spot the clay, they first studied the planet from orbit.Researchers used the OMEGA instrument on ESA’s Mars Express orbiter and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to explore the minerals and rock layers on …
