The discovery of trace amounts of opal gemstones on the surface of Mars could be a lead to evidence of life on the Red Planet, researchers at the University of Glasgow suggest in a new study. Earth scientist Martin Lee and his team used a scanning electron microscope to examine a fragment of a Martian meteorite, named Nakhla after the town in Egypt where it fell in 1911.
The meteorite, they write in a paper published in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science, contains a small amount of fire opal, a gemstone often set in jewelry. More importantly, though, opal is often found near hot springs, where microbial life thrives in mineral-rich waters and sometimes becomes preserved in the opal deposits as if in amber.
These findings confirm evidence of opals from Mars missions, and provide a target for future experiments. "If Martian microbes existed, it’s possible they too may be preserved in opal deposits on the surface of Mars," Lee said in a news release. "Closer study of Martian opals by future missions to Mars could well help us learn more about the planet’s past and whether it once held life." What future experiments does Earth scientist Martin Lee suggest should be conducted to learn more about the planet's past and whether it once held life based on the discovery of opal on Mars?
This prompt doesn't seem malicious.