The Solar System
As a result of a mysterious catastrophic event about 13.8 billion years
ago, the Universe was formed (2012HawkingS; 2020AghanimN_RoudierG). In it,
giant cloud-like accumulations of plasma, molecules and dust became the points
of star formation (2011MurrayN). A series of their generations, igniting,
functioning and collapsing, led to the appearance of various chemical elements
through staged reactions of nuclear fusion (1998IshkhanovBS_TutynIA).
The Sun was born for at least ten million years by compressing a
concentration of molecular gas and parts of the most ancient stars
(2010HanslmeierA). As a result, 4.5682-4.567 billion years ago, the Solar
System self-organized, at the dawn of its life consisting of a central luminary
and a protoplanetary gas and dust disk (2013HazenRM). At least the oldest
meteorite inclusions were fused 4.568-4.565 billion years ago, and at most
three million years later, accretion of chondrite globules occurred
(1995AllègreCJ_GöpelC).
The form of life known to us is possible in the presence of liquid
water, biogenic chemical elements and an energy source
(2002ChybaCF_PhillipsCB). Today, Earth has these resources abundantly. Liquid
oceans beneath the ice of Saturn’s moon Enceladus offer suitable conditions for
life (2021AffholderA_MazevetS). A subsurface salt ocean exists on Jupiter's
satellite Europa, and an analogue of terrestrial life is not excluded in it
(2001ChybaCF_PhillipsCB). Numerous scientific publications based on remote
sensing data and direct studies of Mars by landers and rovers indicate the
presence of liquid water on the surface in the past. Water flow and sediment deposits near the
northern equatorial Chryse Planitia date to about 3.65 billion years ago (2015RodriguezJAP_GlinesN).
To the north of the Hellas Basin, traces of intense erosion, probably water,
are younger than 3.29 billion years (2016SaleseF_OriGG). In the Ares Valley,
there are signs of floods dating back about 3.6-3.0 billion years
(2010WarnerN_MullerJP). Meanwhile, Martian meteorites known as nakhlites show
evidence of water alteration about 620 million years ago (2005TreimanAH).
Given these findings, Enceladus and Europa could potentially support Earth-like fish today. There is a possibility that some bottom species have developed an anatomical structure similar to ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). The presence of developed biological forms on Mars cannot be ruled out three billion years ago. The creatures could have been aquatic, amphibious, and land-dwelling. In order for Martian species similar to terrestrial chordates to appear, evolution would have needed a significant acceleration. On our planet, LCF did not have time to arise in the first 1.5 billion years. According to molecular clock data, the separation of animals from plants occurred around 1.6 billion years ago (2004HedgesSB_ShoeJL). The appearance of fauna in the Solar System 3.0-2.9 billion years after its formation cools the rosy expectations of finding traces of LCF in the fossil history of Mars.
References
Hawking S. The Beginning of Time (lecture), 2012. [kanzeon.nl]
Aghanim N, Akrami Y, Ashdown M, Aumont J, Baccigalupi C, Ballardini M, ... Roudier G. Planck 2018 results-VI. Cosmological parameters. Astronomy & Astrophysics. 2020;641:A6. [aanda.org]
Murray N. Star formation efficiencies and lifetimes of giant molecular clouds in the Milky Way. The Astrophysical Journal. 2011;729(2)133. [iopscience.iop.org]
Ишханов БС, Капитонов ИМ, Тутынь ИА. Нуклеосинтез во вселенной. Москва: Издательство Московского университета, 1998. [nuclphys.sinp.msu.ru]
Hanslmeier A. Water in the Universe. Astrophysics and space science library. Vol. 368. Springer Science & Business Media, 2010. [books.google]
Hazen RM. The Origin and Evolution of Earth: From the Big Bang to the Future of Human Existence. Course Guidebook. United States of America: The great courses, 2013. [archive.org]
Allègre CJ, Manhès G, Göpel C. The age of the Earth Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 1995;59(8)1445-56. [sciencedirect.com]
Chyba CF, Phillips CB. Europa as an abode of life. Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere. 2002;32:47-67. [link.springer.com]
Affholder A, Guyot F, Sauterey B, Ferrière R, Mazevet S. Bayesian analysis of Enceladus’s plume data to assess methanogenesis. Nature Astronomy. 2021;5(8)805-14. [nature.com]
Chyba CF, Phillips CB. Possible ecosystems and the search for life on Europa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2001;98(3)801-4. [pnas.org]
Rodriguez JAP, Kargel JS, Baker VR, Gulick VC, Berman DC, Fairén AG, ... Glines N. Martian outflow channels: How did their source aquifers form and why did they drain so rapidly?. Scientific Reports. 2015;5(1)13404. [nature.com]
Salese F, Ansan V, Mangold N, Carter J, Ody A, Poulet F, Ori GG. A sedimentary origin for intercrater plains north of the Hellas basin: Implications for climate conditions and erosion rates on early Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 2016;121(11)2239-67. [onlinelibrary.wiley.com]
Warner N, Gupta S, Kim JR, Lin SY, Muller JP. Hesperian equatorial thermokarst lakes in Ares Vallis as evidence for transient warm conditions on Mars. Geology. 2010;38(1)71-4. [pubs.geoscienceworld.org]
Treiman AH. The nakhlite meteorites: Augite-rich igneous rocks from Mars. Geochemistry. 2005;65(3)203-70. [sciencedirect.com]
Hedges SB, Blair JE, Venturi ML, Shoe JL. A molecular timescale of eukaryote evolution and the rise of complex multicellular life. BMC evolutionary biology. 2004;4(1)1-9. [link.springer.com]
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The original text in Russian is available at the link: Солнечная система
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