Could Evidence of Life on Mars be Found in a Crater? Marc Montgomery - Radio Canada International
go to original January 31, 2017

Unlike the asteroid impact that catapulted the dinosaurs into extinction on Earth, a gigantic asteroid crater on Mars may have actually been responsible for spawning life on the planet. (Business Insider)
 

It’s one of many questions scientists are asking as they study core samples taken last year from the giant Chicxulub crater in Mexico. The researchers are looking for evidence of bacteria within the rock.

As Professor Gordon Osinski says, we have clear examples of life here on earth that thrive without light or oxygen and at extremely high temperatures such as around the “black smokers” on the ocean floor.

Gordon Osinksi (PhD) is an associate professor in the Departments of Earth Sciences, and  Physics and Astronomy at Western University in Ontario. He was a member of an international team exploring the Chicxulub crater in Mexico.

It was a critical event in Earth history.

Some 65 million years ago a huge meteor hit in the area of the Yucatan Peninsula. It was so powerful it resulted in wiping out the dinosaurs and most of the life on the planet.

The impact was so great that they discovered the rocks were more porous than models had predicted.

The mineral rich porous rocks and warm water could well have presented suitable habitats for simple organism to take hold, and may have been where life forms began on Earth.

Read the rest at Radio Canada International

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