By . Rob Waugh . PUBLISHED: . 13:17 EST, 26 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:22 EST, 26 April 2012 . Nearly four million square miles of the surface of Mars are covered with glass - and the discovery could be evidence that the Red Planet once harboured life. Martians, of course, are not peering at us through double-glazing - instead, the glass sand that covers Mars is evidence of lava interacting with ice or water, an ideal recipe for the creation of life. One of the most popular theories of how life on Earth formed is that undersea volcanic vents created a chemical 'soup' where the first life forms evolved. Volcanic glass on Mars: Martians, of course, are not peering at us through double-glazing - instead, the glass sand that covers Mars is evidence of lava interacting with ice or water, an ideal recipe for the creation of life . Looking in the wrong place? An image of the Viking 1 Martian lander which touched down on the Red Planet in 1976 and took soil samples and pictures of the surface . Mars is covered in volcanic glass - direct evidence that water and hot magma once interacted on the Red Planet. 'The glass is most likely volcanic glass produced during explosive . eruptions, and potential sources include volcano-ice interactions in the . northern lowlands,' say researchers Briony Horgan and James F. Bell of Arizona State University. 'The glass deposits also exhibit signs of weathering, . indicating widespread interactions with liquid water.' 'These interactions that could create the perfect environments for microbial life,' says Astrobiology Magazine, which reported the research. 'Under the hyper-arid climatic conditions Mars has experienced over the past three billion years or more, the most likely source of this water is melting ice or snow,' says Horgan. 'These results suggest that explosive volcanism may be a major source of sediments on Mars, and that limited liquid water has been present at the surface of Mars even under long-term hyper-arid conditions.' The glass on the surface could be a sign of water beneath the surface - or of long-preserved signatures of vanished life forms. Many areas of Mars show evidence of past water: The enormous 48-mile long crater that is also one mile deep displays evidence at its edges of channels that could have been created by water displaced by the meteor impact . The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter revealed that up to four million square miles of volcanic glass cover the surface of the Red Planet . ‘We definitely know searching for organisms in the northern . lowlands is difficult,’ Horgan said. ‘I think the better place to go would be . those source regions, the ice-magma interactions.’
Four million square miles of volcanic glass detected on Martian surface .
Evidence of lava interacting with water .
Volcanic glass could be 'best place' to look for life on planet .
By . Rob Waugh . PUBLISHED: . 13:17 EST, 26 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:22 EST, 26 April 2012 . Nearly four million square miles of the surface of Mars are covered with glass - and the discovery could be evidence that the Red Planet once harboured life. Martians, of course, are not peering at us through double-glazing - instead, the glass sand that covers Mars is evidence of lava interacting with ice or water, an ideal recipe for the creation of life. One of the most popular theories of how life on Earth formed is that undersea volcanic vents created a chemical 'soup' where the first life forms evolved. Volcanic glass on Mars: Martians, of course, are not peering at us through double-glazing - instead, the glass sand that covers Mars is evidence of lava interacting with ice or water, an ideal recipe for the creation of life . Looking in the wrong place? An image of the Viking 1 Martian lander which touched down on the Red Planet in 1976 and took soil samples and pictures of the surface . Mars is covered in volcanic glass - direct evidence that water and hot magma once interacted on the Red Planet. 'The glass is most likely volcanic glass produced during explosive . eruptions, and potential sources include volcano-ice interactions in the . northern lowlands,' say researchers Briony Horgan and James F. Bell of Arizona State University. 'The glass deposits also exhibit signs of weathering, . indicating widespread interactions with liquid water.' 'These interactions that could create the perfect environments for microbial life,' says Astrobiology Magazine, which reported the research. 'Under the hyper-arid climatic conditions Mars has experienced over the past three billion years or more, the most likely source of this water is melting ice or snow,' says Horgan. 'These results suggest that explosive volcanism may be a major source of sediments on Mars, and that limited liquid water has been present at the surface of Mars even under long-term hyper-arid conditions.' The glass on the surface could be a sign of water beneath the surface - or of long-preserved signatures of vanished life forms. Many areas of Mars show evidence of past water: The enormous 48-mile long crater that is also one mile deep displays evidence at its edges of channels that could have been created by water displaced by the meteor impact . The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter revealed that up to four million square miles of volcanic glass cover the surface of the Red Planet . ‘We definitely know searching for organisms in the northern . lowlands is difficult,’ Horgan said. ‘I think the better place to go would be . those source regions, the ice-magma interactions.’
Nearly four million square miles of the surface evidence of lava interacting with ice or water, The glass on the surface could be a sign of water square miles of volcanic glass cover the surface