Executive Summary : | There are compelling evidences that during the first half-billion years Mars was wetter i.e., its surface and shallow subsurface hosted liquid water, and the environmental condition was similar to the Archaean Earth in which microbial life emerged and thrived. As a result, Mars has become the most promising target for astrobiological studies. In the last 20 years, the scientific search for life on Mars has been taken on two major aspects: 1) exploring the martial geological records for probable evidences of prehistoric life, 2) looking for signs of existing microbial life on Mars surface and subsurface environments. Progress has been made in both aspects. However, the search for prehistoric life on Mars has received more attention mainly due to the fact that early Martian condition was relatively more hospitable for survival of life. Given the widespread evidence of ancient hydrothermal deposits on Mars, hotspring deposits have been suggested as possible palaeobiological archives for astrobiological research. Terrestrial hotspring environments host a diverse range of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microbial communities, a fraction of which often gets entrapped in the growing sinter deposits in its close vicinity and gets preserved in form of a variety of bio-signatures. These properties make terrestrial hotspring an excellent natural laboratory for studying the preservation of organic, inorganic, and morphological bio-signatures for astrobiological purposes. A large number of works have been performed on the preservation of morphological structures. In contrast, very few studies have been attempted to comprehend the preservation of biogenic organic molecules in Mars analog hydrothermal environment. Data on the preservation of organic molecules in geothermal sinters are scarce and have only come from a few locations. These data are not necessarily representative of other hydrothermal systems, because the primary factors influencing lipid retention in hydrothermal sinters are temperatures, pH, and geochemistry that vary from pool to pool. Thus, the need exists not only for cross-locational studies, but also for studies that cover a range of: timeframe, pH, temperature, geochemical composition, and mineral phase crystallinity. This project aims to investigate the Trans-Himalayan geothermal sites of the Ladakh region which are lying at an altitude ranging between 3000 to 4400 m above mean sea level. These hot springs in Ladakh are considered unique sites for astrobiological research because of their high elevation, cold desert environment, high UV exposure, lower surface boiling temperature, which collectively simulate a more similar environment currently existing on Mars. These characteristics are particularly fascinating for studying the numerous factors that may impact the formation and diagenetic evolution of hotspring deposits, as well as the preservation of organics. |