Mars: The search for Life

The Brief

President Trump’s proposed NASA budget redirects focus from moon missions to Mars exploration.

Central Florida scientists, including UCF’s Dr. Ramses Ramirez, is developing technology to help humans explore, and possibly terraform, Mars.

Scientists have found clues Mars may have once supported life and are now working to determine if it still might.

Why Shift the Focus to Mars?

The Trump administration’s proposed federal budget calls for phasing out the Artemis moon missions and instead prioritizing deep space exploration—specifically Mars.

The move aligns with renewed scientific interest in the red planet, which many researchers believe may once have been habitable.

Was Mars Once Like Earth?

According to planetary scientists, Mars may have looked very different in the past. Using infrared telescopes, NASA scientists studied water molecules in the Martian atmosphere. The data helped them determine:

Mars once had significant surface water.

Around 13% of its water is now frozen.

The rest likely escaped into space as the atmosphere thinned.

Topographic analysis also shows signs that ancient rivers and lakes once dotted the planet’s surface. That evidence raises the possibility that Mars may have supported life before drying out.

What Evidence of Life Have Scientists Found?

Interest in Martian life intensified in the 1980s and 1990s:

In 1984, scientists discovered a Martian meteorite in Antarctica.

In 1996, researchers announced the discovery of possible fossilized microbial life inside that meteorite. President Clinton called the finding "one of the most stunning insights into the universe science has ever uncovered."

Subsequent missions uncovered additional clues:

NASA’s Curiosity rover found organic molecules and long-chain hydrocarbons in 2013.

The Perseverance rover gathered samples in the Jezero Crater, once home to a lake and river system—an ideal location for life to take hold.

The search continues, but analysis of the samples Perseverance collected may take up to a decade before they return to Earth.

Why Send Humans to Mars?

UCF Professor Ramses Ramirez believes human exploration can greatly accelerate the search for life.

"A human can react quickly or look at things more carefully," he said.

Dr. Ramirez supports sending astronauts to Mars to collect samples firsthand—something he says is already possible with existing technology.

He sees a clear scientific purpose:

"I think the holy grail for science is to figure out: Are we alone in the universe?"

What’s Next for Mars—and Earth?

Central Florida scientists are not just studying Mars—they’re working on ways to transform it.

Dr. Ramirez and others are exploring how to change the Martian environment to support future colonization. These efforts could eventually make Mars more Earth-like and produce spin-off technologies that benefit our planet.

The next installment of Breakthroughs in Science will explore how researchers plan to alter the Martian climate—and why the payoff may go far beyond space travel.

The Source

This report is based on publicly available NASA research, interviews with planetary scientists, and original reporting featuring UCF Professor Ramses Ramirez.