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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 11: Planets and Small Bodies

EP 11.1: Hauptvortrag

Freitag, 20. März 2026, 11:00–11:30, KH 01.019

Iron and the search for life on Mars — •Christian Schröder — Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen, Germany

Iron is a major rock-forming element. Because it is redox-active, it connects the geosphere with (bio)geochemical cycles of the CHNOPS elements essential to life. Compared to Earth, Mars has accreted from a more oxidized reservoir and therefore retained more iron in its mantle. This iron remains mobile in aqueous systems because Mars' atmosphere and water have never been fully oxygenated. Iron thus plays a dominant role in the search for life on the Red Planet when assessing its habitability as well as the preservation and detection of potential biosignatures. For example: Serpentinization of iron-bearing olivine can generate organic molecules through Fisher-Tropsch type synthesis; minerals indicating iron redox cycling provide strong potential biosignatures; reactive iron mineral phases sequester and preserve organic carbon compounds as potential biosignatures over geological timescales; but iron may also hamper the detection of organic compounds with GCMS or Raman spectroscopy. This presentation will put recent results into the context of the current state of international Mars exploration.

Keywords: Mars; iron; biosignature; habitability; organic matter