It's Alive! AI Algorithm Developed To Detect Current Or Ancient Life On Mars Or Other Celestial Bodies In The Solar System

A recent breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) technology holds promise for aiding scientists in their quest to detect signs of life, whether ancient or current. The innovative algorithm, devised by a University of Arizona team, is capable of discerning distinctive patterns in a range of samples and classifying them as either indicative of past life or nonbiological in nature, such as rocks or soil. 

Scientists led by Robert Hazen from the Carnegie Institution and Jim Cleaves of the Tokyo Institute of Technology are working with the AI algorithm and published results in the National Academy of Sciences. The development is relevant to the pursuit of proving historical life on Mars, a challenging endeavor because of the planet's inhospitable conditions. The algorithm's application extends to examining Martian soil and rock specimens, enabling the identification of patterns suggesting former life.

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The AI's training process involved compiling a vast dataset of both living and nonliving specimens from Earth, including human hair and rice grains as well as various chemical compounds. 

Armed with this data, the researchers then used the algorithm to assess unidentified samples. They achieved a 90% accuracy rate in distinguishing between biotic and abiotic entities. And the AI technique will become "smarter" over time as it receives and analyzes more samples and can refine its ability to determine what attributes are markers for biological life. 

The AI algorithm could help researchers look for life beyond Mars, out into other bodies in the solar system. It could review samples from the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, which rank among the most promising candidates for extraterrestrial life.

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Several countries plan to conduct both manned and unmanned missions to Mars. The most notable of the endeavors is the Mars Sample Return mission, an operation in the planning stages run by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The AI algorithm is a step in the quest for finding past or current life forms outside of Earth. A successful effort that identifies such life would drive further investment in AI tools as well as space exploration, something that billionaires like Elon Musk support. Musk frequently talks about visiting and colonizing Mars, saying, "Mars may be a fixer-upper of a planet, but it has great potential." 

Musk said the timeframe for building a sustained civilization on Mars is 20 to 30 years from the first humans landing on the planet if launch-rate growth is exponential. This assumes 100,000 people land on each rendezvous. Musk estimates that 1 million people will be needed to make a fully independent society. 

Despite Musk's claims, Mars remains a challenging environment for humans. The high daytime temperatures on the planet can reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit, but these dip to negative 200 degrees at night, a range beyond human survivability. And no known liquid water deposits or foliage exist on Mars — just mountain ranges and rocky valleys.

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