1. Mars Student Imaging Project
Lakewood High School
Mars Student Imaging Project

2. Introduction: Observations and Thoughts
Started with polar ice caps
Lead us to think if life on Mars could be found in glacial areas
Looked at background information about conditions for life
Compared conditions for life on Earth and Mars
Deduced what some similar features on Earth and Mars are
Researched the features, compared and contrasted
While we were brainstorming ideas for our big picture question, we realized a recurring theme that we all seemed to be interested in; the possibility of life on Mars. This pointed us in the direction of the polar ice caps because of the water in them. We thought that if there was liquid water there would be a strong possibility of microbes. Pictured here is the northern ice cap because of the higher possibility that life would exist in this area.

3. Has there ever been life on Mars?
Big Picture Question
Has there ever been life on Mars?
Can it exist?
Has it existed before?
Where can it be found?
Our experiment was conducted around our big picture question, which is “Has there ever been life on Mars?”. The reason we studied past and present life on Mars is because we observed how life can exist in extreme and bizarre conditions. We wondered if the conditions on Mars, which may not be suitable for humans right now, might host or used to host microbial life. We also wanted to know if Mars has the potential for life in the future.

4. Research Question & Hypothesis
Can we find locations on Mars that have frozen water and indications of possible conditions for life?
Hypothesis: If there could be water in pockets which are located underneath the surface of Mars then could there be life inside of them?
Our hypothesis is that since there is water in pockets underneath Mars’ surface then there could be possible life living on Mars because on Earth, we have similarities including life that exists underwater and that could also be on Mars. If there is or was life it would have to find a source of food and be able to survive and multiply off of it. The life would have to be able to withstand the pressure underneath the rock which would be possible due to the similar conditions here on Earth where life can survive deep in the oceans. This is possible because scientists have found out that there is water in its atmosphere and minerals on the surface which are almost like salt which soaks up the water and makes it visible in streaks on the surface. That water could then seep through the rocks and form pools of water and the pressure could keep it liquid.

5. Working Hypothesis
If there is or ever has been life on Mars we need to find
habitable conditions as far a temperature goes (-15 to - 20 degrees C)
places with glacial landforms that contain hematites, carbonates, as well as chlorides
For our working hypothesis, we researched if there is or has ever been life on Mars. To discover this information, we found certain conditions on Mars that would be likely to indicate that life exists there. These circumstances that we found include habitable conditions in relation to temperature, such as -15 to - 20 degrees celsius at which life can survive, and places with hematites, carbonates, as well as chlorides, that are trace chemicals that hint at water and life. Our last criteria is finding a place with glacial landforms that contain these trace chemicals.

6. Background
The main reason why we picked the subject of polar ice caps is so that we can learn more about it and our class thought that this was the most interesting subject for us to learn more about.
Our data includes variables such as latitude, longitude, hematite.
Mars
Earth
The left picture is a mars polar ice cap and the right is a polar ice cap from earth.
Ice caps on Earth are mainly water ice, whereas Mars's polar ice caps are a mixture of solid carbon dioxide and water ice. Polar ice caps form because high-latitude regions receive less energy in the form of solar radiation from the Sun than equatorial regions, resulting in lower surface temperatures.

7. Methods; Criteria
Glacier like forms that can hold life in small ice chunks. Below, are the most reliable places to find life.
45.5°E, 44.0 °N
51.0°E, 40.81°N
305.0°E, -45.5°N
102.0°E -39.1°N
These are just some places where there could or have been life. In these ice chunks we could find microorganisms that can give and tell a lot of information about Mars past.
In these glacier like forms there are chunks of ice that could possibly hold microorganisms or already have in the past. If there is or was life it can reveal information about Mars’ past. The are some locations to where there are large quantities of polar ice and we investigated in these area a little more because these areas have a higher chance to sustain life.

8. Methods; Data Collection Plan
These are the locations where we believe there could be life.The frozen water left behind has left this an adequate place for possible life. We looked at these areas because there has been evidence of microbes living in extreme conditions on Earth. They have been found in the poles inside the ice.

9. Data Collection Plan We researched: Carbonate Temperature Hematite
Chloride
HEND Layer
Because these are favorable elements for life.
Carbonates are formed in warm, shallow water. The most common Carbonates are limestone and dolostones. This shows that Mars may have been a much more habitable place for life.
Hematite is formed in places that have still standing water. Finding out how the Hematite formed on Mars will help find out if there were conditions favorable to life and how the environment was before.
Temperature is a big factor on whether a microbe can live in that environment. We are looking at favorable conditions for microbes therefore temperature must be a factor. If a spot is too hot or cold, the possibility that microbes can live in that area is almost nonexistent. However, the possibility remains that Mars can contain a modified species of microbes that could withstand its homeworld temperatures.
Chloride is associated with water evaporation which means that this being found on Mars could mean that those areas had water before the water evaporated.
The HEND layer on JMARS shows layers of water that is underground. These spots with lots of water under the surface could be places to look for microbes because if it's liquid it could be a place that microbes could live.

10. Data Area Temperature Latitude Longitude HEND layer Hematite Carbonate
Chloride 1
190° kelvin
40.0° N
45.5 °E 2
437.1° kelvin
40.81°N
51.0 °E 3
215° kelvin
-45.5 °N
305.5 °E 4
218.6° kelvin
-39.1°N
102.0° E 5
190.1° kelvin
40.81 N
51.56 E 6
213.01° kelvin
-42.5 N
108.6 E 7
187° kelvin
42.5 N
50.28 E 8
208.06° kelvin
-48.0 N
42.2 E
The data table show eight glacier-like forms, which are represented by the latitude and longitude points, and we added substances which can help support life. Hematite for example is a mineral that can only be created when there is a presence of water near by, therefore if we can find Hematite, we can find water, an important building block of life. Also as you can see in the graph we looked at the temperature, HEND layer, hematite, carbonate, and chloride. When we collected the data for all of that we used 0, 1, and 2 scale. zero means that is not present in that area at all. one means that the area had a small amount/ was blue and purple. Lastly, two means it had a medium amount/ it was green and yellow. Also a note i wanted to make is that carbonate is not indicative of life, but we still thought it was an important substance to research, and we know that kelvin is an incorrect measurement of temperature, but that is what we collected on JMARS, and we know it is one of the human errors we came across in this project.

11. Graph
As you can see, we used this graph to represent the levels of underground water, hematite, carbonate, and chloride. We also totaled up these numbers so we could get an idea of which locations seemed to show the most potential for life. Locations 1, 5, and 8 all had similar results and they’re totals tied for the highest. We figured that probably these three locations were the most likely to support life on Mars out of the eight that we researched.

12. Results
Throughout this experiment, we collected data on the HEND layer, hematite, carbonate, chloride, and what the temperature was like. To collect that data we looked at what the color of the area was, which gave a score as to how much of each substance was in each of the eight glacier like forms we looked at. The scale we used was 0, 1, and means that it is not present at all. One means the color was blue and purple, which is a low amount. Then 2 is green and yellow, a medium amount of the substance. After all the research we did, we can’t definitely say that there has been life on Mars, mostly because we can’t conduct any real experiment there, but hope in the future that scientist will tunnel underground at the glacier like forms that we choose, and take water ice from below the surface and test it for microbes. The areas though that we believe will be best fit for further research are areas 1,5 and 8 due to their overall totals, being the highest. Therefore if the experiment is conducted further , then we recommend scientist look at areas 1,5 and 8.

13. Potential error Temperature of area 2 (437.1 Kelvin)
Potential for human error
Wrong interpretation of the data
Wrong numbers corresponding with colors
There were a few errors made in the data collection process. For example, the temperature in location 2 was simply impossible. This could possibly be a systematic error with the program we used, but more likely it was a human misinterpretation of the data. In addition to that, there may be other human errors including other misinterpretations and miscalculations.

14. Next Step
The next step that we can take with our presentation to state our ideas and our understandings is…
Look into the possibility the Wire-line Analysis Tool for Substance Observations of Northern-ice-sheets (WATSON) has to find life on Mars and maybe finding microbes in the water
Look at biosignatures or heat signatures on Mars to possibly find life
To further our knowledge about the possible existence of life on Mars, we can take the next step of possibly using a Wire-line Analysis Tool for Substance Observations of Northern-ice-sheets (WATSON) to see what chemicals and minerals that indicate life are within or underneath the icy surface of Mars. The WATSON is a device that takes a sample of ice from a surface and evaluating how much and which substances are within it. This may lead the new findings about life existence. Additionally, we could look for biosignatures or heat signatures that may also be indicators of either the present or past existence of life on the planet Mars.

15. References “Overview I Mars Exploration Program.” NASA. 14 March 2017.
“Four Conditions for Bacterial Growth.” LIVESTRONG.COM. 20 February March 2017.
“How does water on Mars and the moon differ from water on Earth?” HowStuffWorks Science August March 2017
“Polar Regions - Page 3.” Phoenix Mars Mission - Education - Mars Polar Regions. 14 March
“These Ultra-Small Bacteria May Be The Tiniest LIfe Forms on Earth.” The Huffington Post March March 2017.
“New 3-D map of Mars’ ice caps reveal hidden structures.” AOL.com. 05 January March
“Nightingale Rose Diagram Excel Template” Excel How To. N.p., 19 May Web. 17 Apr
And here are our references.