Dr. Amos Banin

Trained as a chemist, Amos looks at life’s basic ingredients. Is life on Earth constructed the way it is because that was really the only scheme that would work, or are we a product of our environment – our chemistry governed by the prevalence of differing elements on the surface of our planet? If the latter is the case, then that might tell us something interesting about Martians – if there are any, or ever were any.

Soil on the Red Planet has been modified by water, much as on Earth. It is highly enriched in soluble salts. But it seemingly misses the ubiquitous carbonates and clays that you’d find in the soil of our world. Analyses of available data show that most biogenic elements are present in Martian soils at proportions similar to those of Earth. However, we still haven’t a good idea of how much nitrogen exists in the soil of the Red Planet. Recent analyses of Mars meteorite data suggest that it may not be as low as earlier believed. Only direct measurements of nitrogen can tell us how similar the martian environment is to our own, a key datum to understanding any possible biology there.