British scientists get $4.2m to study life on Mars

Space scientists in Britain have won more than 4.2 million U. S. dollars of government funding to help support exploration of life on Mars.

The funding from the official UK Space Agency will also help support studies into experiments that could be built and flown to the International Space Station (ISS), which could potentially support future human exploration of space.

British research will target questions of past and present life on Mars, investigating the presence of water and the geochemical environment, as well as atmospheric trace gases and their sources.

Science Minister Jo Johnson said: “This government funding will play a vital role in ensuring UK academics can continue to study the secrets of our solar system, from the polar regions of the Moon to the potential of life on Mars.”

The funding has gone to 17 academics and individual scientists working at UK research organisations. In addition, funding has been awarded to the UK microgravity and space environments community in academia and industry.

UCJ, UNILORIN.