Could Bectaria From Earth Make It To Mars- And Survive There?

When we talk about natural life on Mars, we don't normally picture that it will be life that we (accidentally) transported there. But a vision of new studies looks at the option of how some bacteria from Earth could be capable to live — maybe even flourish — on Marsian surface. The three recent studies, all issued in Astrobiology by NASA JPL's Kasthuri J. Venkateswaran, concentrate on not just how the bacteria might make it to Mars, but also what would happen to it once it reached.

Image: artist's conception of an astronaut gathering samples on Mars / NASA

There are, obviously, procedures planned to keep spacecraft clear of contaminants. The problem, however, might be bacterial reproductive structure, which can be extremely hardy. While contact to harsh elements and UV radiation on Mars can kill many of them but some might still live. In a simulated Martian atmosphere, some bacteria in the study were able to survive at 18 months and unbelievably some had develop even harder than we they reached. Venkateswaran Said: “These surviving spores had higher concentrations of proteins associated with UV radiation resistance and, in fact, showed elevated UV resistance when revived and re-exposed on Earth."

You can read all three studies in Astrobiology here, here, and here {read more from NASA here.}

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