No life has yet been found on Mars, but it is exciting to explore the circumstances under which it might be possible. A team led by the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) with the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) has studied the cellular processes that regulate the adaptation of microorganisms to perchlorates. If microorganisms could genetically adapt their stress response to this salt, which occurs in some deserts and on Mars, their survival on the Red Planet might be possible.
No life has yet been found on Mars, but it is exciting to explore the circumstances under which it might be possible. A team led by the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) with the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) has studied the cellular processes that regulate the adaptation of microorganisms to perchlorates. If microorganisms could genetically adapt their stress response to this salt, which occurs in some deserts and on Mars, their survival on the Red Planet might be possible.
The team’s paper describing their study is published in the journal Environmental Microbiology.
Life as we know it requires energy and the availability of CHNOPS. This acronym stands for carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. Trace elements and liquid water are also indispensable. Much of this is available on Mars: Energy can be provided by sunlight or chemical processes, carbon is available through the thin but carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere, and other essential elements are abundant on the planet’s surface in what is called regolith.
