Earth Bacteria Can Survive And Grow In Extremely Hostile, Mars-Like Conditions
Mars In Living Color The Mars rover Curiosity captured this image of the rock outcrop informally named "Shaler" on Dec. 7. The area covered by the image spans about 3 feet (90 centimeters) in the foreground. It's in raw color, so this is what it looks like to the rover. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSTwo new experiments show how easy it would be to infect Mars with alien microbes. A species of hardy bacteria found anywhere from human skin to plant roots can survive in a Mars-like environment, a new study says. The finding has implications for extraterrestrial life, but maybe more importantly, there are implications for planetary protection. Could stowaway microbes hop off the Mars rover Curiosity (or its descendants) and make a new life on the Red Planet? Astrobiologists like studying extremophiles, those bacteria and other creatures that live in horrid temperatures or pressures, because they could conceivably live in the hostile environs...