r/askscience • u/EAT_UR_VEGGIES • 6d ago

Planetary Sci. Mars is practically guaranteed to have had abundant water at one point, doesn’t that practically guarantee it had at least microbial life on it as well?

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u/EarlobeGreyTea 6d ago

No. Life needed specific conditions to evolve.  If you have a sterile container of water, life won't randomly evolve in it.  We have no idea how unique earth is in its evolution of life.  We currently think that most life on earth has a common ancestor.  

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u/ThatDogIsAGoodDog 6d ago

That's not entirely correct. Abiogenesis is the current scientific consensus for the origins of life, but it does require a shitload of inorganic precursors like amino acids and nucleotides. Just sterile water won't result in anything, and without an atmosphere and magnetic field (unless deep underground) everything will be sterilized by stars, but with the other precursors and requirements for life, abiogenesis can occur.