Abstract: The evidence for past life on Mars is supported by Steve Ruff and Jack Farmer’s findings about silica deposits on Mars, the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001, and evidence of past water valleys. Silica deposits from Mars are very similar to deposit formations here on Earth, which were made from biotic processes. Furthermore, Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001) gives evidence of organic buildups native to ancient Mars. Lastly, valleys on Mars’ surface has evidence of flowing water, shown in outflow channels and sinuous valleys. While it is important to look into the past, SpaceX is looking to the future. Ambitious Elon Musk has plans for building a colony on Mars and allowing humans to be the first interplanetary species. …show more content…
Not every type of water- frozen, liquid, or solid- indicates life, however. The key is flowing, liquid water. The formation of the water valleys point to flowing water, as shown by pictures from the Viking and Mariner 9. According to Christopher P. McKay, the pictures show “outflow channels, large features that appear to be the result of catastrophic outflows of liquid water from water-bearing rock formations, or aquifers, beneath the Martian surface.” Outflow channels usually indicate the action of flowing water, which the majority of species thrive with. Another piece of evidence that points that flowing water created the valleys is that some valleys are sinuous and they have branching off and drainage patterns. Even on Earth, flowing water forms networks that branch off, such as seen in river deltas going off into oceans or larger bodies of water. If water patterns on Earth are similar to the valley patterns indicated on Mars, then there is a chance that water created this pattern. Furthermore, according to Lujendra Ojha, of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, the valleys have a presence of hydrated salts which give even more evidence that water, the salts indicating specifically salt water, created the valleys that streak Mars. This means that it is possible that creatures who had a dependency on salt water once lived on the