Researchers explore superhabitable worlds and Martian nitrogen cycles

Astronomical research is shifting focus toward the concept of ‘superhabitable’ worlds. While Earth has long been the primary benchmark for life, scientists suggest that planets slightly larger than Earth, with denser atmospheres and more abundant water, could potentially support larger biomass and greater biodiversity than our own.

In a separate study, researchers from the University of Aveiro and NASA are investigating the chemical conditions on Mars to determine if the planet could have supported life. The investigation focuses on how nitrogen, an essential element for proteins and genetic material, may have been stored and transformed on Mars in the past.

The team is exploring whether nitrogen could have been stored as ammonium within clay minerals known as smectites. Understanding the nitrogen cycle is critical for reconstructing the environmental history of Mars and assessing its potential to have hosted biological organisms.