7.2 days old
48,2 percent lit
Now, about that one way trip to Mars.
February 14, 2016
By Alyssa Navarro
Throughout (click here) the known universe, the Earth is considered significantly distinct from other planets and cosmic objects because it is the only home to living beings.
In fact, our planet's ability to host life may be linked to the existence of rare minerals, differentiating it from others in the cosmos.
The pair found that there is an association between the presence of minerals on Earth and the planet's ability to sustain life.
"Life depends on minerals," says Hazen, a scientist at the Geophysical Laboratory in the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "Life could not have begun without some of the chemical properties that minerals provided at Earth's beginning."
Their conclusion is that each planet with the ability to support life has a unique fingerprint of rare minerals. It's also very likely that planets such as Mercury and Mars have much simpler minerals because they cannot sustain life....
