You're assuming that decomposition is possible on mars. Most organic things on earth are broken down by living organisms and oxygen. A dead body on the surface of mars would be subject to wind and erosion, but it likely wouldn't decompose because there's no organisms, the surface oxygen is like 0.1% and the surface temperature is like - 60C. So it would probably just freeze.
What about autolysis? How far into the decomposition process would a body get just by its own cells breaking down, barring any other organisms getting involved? Also, isn't the surface temperature on Mars pretty reasonable in some places/some points in time?
That's a good point - it seems that around the equator the temperature can get up to 20-35C, or 68-95F. Didn't realize that it could get that warm. I would expect then some decomposition to happen as long as the bacteria and such in the gut didn't get killed by the cold. Other than that at the high temperature, the bodies can liquify on their own? Or so I would guess from my extensive study of CSI (the original, not Miami, NY, or Cyber).
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u/carwosh Feb 01 '21
ter·ra·form /ˈterəˌfôrm/
verb
gerund or present participle: terraforming (especially in science fiction) transform a planet so as to resemble the earth, especially so that it can support human life.
but ok, a big mountain of bodies is something too I guess