Institute of Geology contributes to the study of Mars

The scientific community takes it as a viable working hypothesis that hot ocean-floor springs on Mars represented a source of energy for a group of chemotrophic bacteria, such as those found in terrestrial conditions. Nevertheless, the evolution of possible life on Mars did not reach beyond the level of microbial communities of stromatolite type. It is presumed that sediments with microbial remains were deeply buried and altered by high temperatures and pressures in a similar way as phytoplankton which gave origin to oil deposits on Earth. The new study in the International Journal of Astrobiology, which was contributed by Václav Cílek of the Institute of Geology, considered Mars surface in view of Mars gravity data in order to determine areas with possible occurrences of organic remains in rocks. The purpose of this research is to point to potentially significant sites to be studied by future Martian missions.