Since its inception, the team behind Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life have strived to make the experience as authentic as possible. While there are still so many unanswered questions about what occurs beyond our own planet, we at Auroch Digital have worked with various experts in astrobiology to gain knowledge on a variety of topics to ensure that what happens in the game can realistically happen. To ensure that Mars Horizon 2 is reflective of various elements you can find in space, we’ve been working in partnership with the team running the MSc Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences degree in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.

a shot of the astrobiology staff, MSc degree students, and members of the Mars Horizon 2 development team

Midway through 2024, we visited the University to meet with the astrobiology staff and MSc degree students to learn more about their work and, in this blog, we’ll be highlighting what we learned and how we’re using that knowledge in Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life! A special thank you to Dr Sean McMahon and the students for taking time out of their busy schedule to show us around and teach us about space!

Mist-erious Gandalf

This time, we were allowed to pass! 🙌🏻

A theory which scientists have debated for a while is whether structures that form on Mars are biosignature fossils or just shapes without life. In the Gusev crater, the Spirit Rover found some deposits of silica that have unique shapes to them. Hot water circulates through rocks in the sub-surface, and it will erupt to the surface, sometimes periodically and often. The water that comes out of these holes in the ground is very rich in minerals. The water then splashes everywhere, evaporates, and the minerals precipitate to form special structures. On Earth, when this happens, those structures are full of bacteria because they live there.

Some people believe these are biosignature fossils on Mars and other people think that even if there was no life you would have the same shapes. This is an experiment to try and make these shapes from silica without life being present.

This machine (Gandalf) is switched on once per day and a fountain emits mist, from water which has minerals dissolved into it, for an hour. It looks to mimic the process from Mars as closely as possible. Once complete, the residual water evaporates and leaves mineral behind on the surface. It may take a few years, but deposits of minerals will be built up over time. This will help to see if they have the shapes found in natural examples to help with the theory.

Understanding theories and experiments like this one has been key to us for to add that element of the unknown to Mars Horizon 2. There are still so many unknowns about the Solar System, but being able to ask these questions and have potential answers for them in Mars Horizon 2 is something which excites us greatly!

Scoping Out Chemical Gardens

With so much of the Solar System still relatively unknown, false positives are an aspect which can dash the hopes of that ground-breaking discovery. During our visit, we ran an experiment which looked to see how chemical reactions can produce structures that take on the appearance of small organisms but are not biological at all. When searching for life, we don’t want to fool ourselves into thinking we’ve made a landmark discovery when we haven’t!

This experiment is referred to as the ‘Chemical Garden’ because when iron sulphate and dissolve in a water-based sodium silicate solution, the iron sulphate dissolves to make acid, and an acid–base reaction occurs with the surrounding sodium silicate. This acid reaction produces a tiny membrane, almost like a silica gel, around the pocket of acid. This membrane has hydroxyl ions flowing to the inside until it eventually erupts, which creates almost finger-like extensions. According to Dr Sean McMahon’s hypothesis, similar chemical reactions happened millions of years ago and may have produced structures that look misleadingly like life.

When you’re playing Mars Horizon 2 and combing the galaxy for signs of life, there may be a few false positives which may not get you the results you were looking for. But that’s okay, not everything is straightforward in science and discovering life can take time. You must do your proper research. 🔍

Eli seeing the results of his experiment!

Mars Effect

Many of you might be wondering how astrobiologists are able to replicate the conditions found on the big red planet. Well, thanks to a device called the ‘Mars Chamber’, astrobiologists at the University of Edinburgh can simulate the pressure and atmosphere of Mars in their laboratory! 👨🏻‍🔬

This machine helps scientists to understand how unique shapes that are found on Mars might have been created. If certain salts are dissolved in water and then that water is evaporated through a layer of Mars-like soil, the salts will crystallise out and create these shapes. This process has been replicated using this machine and the results have matched photographs which rovers have shot on Mars!

Thanks to these types of experiments, we can gain knowledge on what exactly the surface view of Mars will look like and how certain shapes and terrain are created. Having a photograph as a reference point is one thing, but to be able to understand how certain shapes have been created helps us to bring that into Mars Horizon 2 with our design. As no two playthroughs are the same, having new, yet realistic, changes are very important to us as we wish for the player to have that sense of discovery every time they play the game.

We would like to extend a massive thank you to everyone at the University of Edinburgh’s Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences MSc degree team for welcoming us onto their campus and providing us with great insight to bring into the game. Their shared knowledge has been hugely beneficial during the development process, especially with how authentic we want the game to be. To find out more information on the University of Edinburgh’s Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences MSc degree, visit their website here, or follow them on Twitter here.

Everyone at Auroch Digital is super-excited to share more information about Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life and we’re so happy to have you on this journey with us!

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Mars Horizon 2 Team’s Trip to University of Edinburgh

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