What lifeform could live on Jupiter or Mars?

Before we answer that question, let's ask another. What conditions are needed for life? As a living being, you should be able to answer that question! First, you need to breathe something. Next, you need to have something to eat and drink. Finally, you need to live in an environment that's not too hot or too cold to live.

As far as we know, no life exists on either Jupiter or Mars. At least not anything like ourselves. However, if life were to exist on either of these planets, what kind of life would it be?

Jupiter is a rather violent planet that has really severe storms and no solid surface. Its surface temperature is a chilly -110°C! If life did exist here, it would have to live in the upper atmosphere. The lifeform would have to breathe hydrogen or helium. It would have to eat other chemicals, such as methane or ammonia. Any lifeform on Jupiter would be totally different from anything we see here on Earth!

Mars is more likely to have life that is similar to ours here on Earth. Mars' atmosphere is much thinner than ours and consists of mainly carbon dioxide. Its surface temperature is -60°C. The only water that exists on Mars is in its North polar cap. Martian soil is unable to support life, since it has less organic matter in it than the Moon's surface. If life did exist here, it would probably live under the frozen Northern polar cap. Here tiny little pieces of life called "microbes" could live,eat, and breathe.

These microbes could be much like microbes that live right here on Earth. In frigid Antarctica, millions and millions of microbes live under the polar cap. In fact, in recent months there has been much debate as to whether life did exist on Mars long ago. We'll just have to wait and see...in the mean time, use your imagination!

To learn more about possible life on other planets, read Cosmos by Carl Sagan. To learn more about weird life that lives in Earth's southern polar cap, read Water, Ice, and Stone by Green.

Submitted by Mike (Wisconsin, USA)
(February 2, 1998)



You might also be interested in:

An Overview of Jupiter's Atmosphere

Jupiter, the king of planets is named very well because it not only has the most powerful winds and storms, but also the most majestic cloud patterns. Jupiter looks very colorful because Jupiter is made...more

What are the retrograde motions of planets in the sky?

It depends on which type of motion you are asking about. If you take a birds-eye view from the top of the solar system all the planets orbit around the Sun in a counter-clockwise (or direct) direction....more

How do Astronauts Live in Space?

Have you ever wondered how astronauts live in space? Did you know they do a lot of the same things we do here on Earth? Astronauts eat, exercise and sleep just like we do. However, their food isn't always...more

How far is the Earth from the Sun, the Moon and all the other planets? How far are all of the planets from the Sun? Do you know of a software that tracks the planets in real-time?

There is a really neat internet program called Solar System Live that shows where all of the planets and the Sun are. If you go to that page, you'll see an image similar to the one on the left. Below the...more

Is it really true that man never really walked on the Moon?

The picture of the American Flag (the one put there by the Apollo astronauts) is waving (or straight out) in the wind. How could that be possible if there is no atmosphere on the Moon? Was it some sort...more

How many planets orbit the sun?

I was wondering if there is a new planet? Are there planets (a tenth planet?) after Pluto belonging to our solar system? What are the names of the new planets discovered in the solar system? Are there...more

Did the Big Bang create any black holes? Wouldn't the universe evolve differently if some of the original energy had disappeared in black holes?

When an object has a really high energy, it can form a black hole. This is called a primordial black hole. Primordial black holes were formed near the beginning of the universe. Primordial black holes...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA