Could Mars be humid enough to support life?

Mars may appear to be dry and desolate, but the Red Planet can be surprisingly humid — perhaps humid enough to support life, some scientists say. The moisture in the atmosphere of Mars could be particularly conducive to life if the water condenses out to form short-term puddles in the early morning hours. Prof John Rummel of East Carolina University told Space.com the conditions on Mars, where relative humidity is high and water vapor is approximately 100 precipitable microns, would be equivalent to the drier parts of the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The conditions on Mars, where the relative humidity is high and the available water vapor is approximately 100 precipitable microns, is the equivalent of the drier parts of the Atacama Desert in Chile.

John Rummel, of East Carolina University.

Rummel reported on the location of several “special regions” on Mars — places with high potential to support Martian organisms today — during a talk the Astrobiology Science Conference in Chicago last month. Liquid water is key for the existence of life here on Earth. But Mars has very little liquid water on its surface today (though evidence suggests it once flowed in the past). According to Rummel, the humidity of Mars is tied to temperature fluctuations. At night, relative humidity levels can rise to 80 to 100 percent, with the air sometimes reaching atmospheric saturation. The daytime air is far drier, due to warmer temperatures.

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