The building blocks of life could survive for millions of years in Martian ice
Amino acids and other organic molecules can withstand harsh cosmic radiation for hundreds of millions of years when shielded beneath the frozen surface of the Red Planet.
Ancient organic molecules are much more resilient than previously thought when buried under just a few meters of Martian soil and ice. Recent laboratory simulations suggest that amino acids could survive for up to 280 million years if they are shielded from the sun's destructive ionizing radiation.
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