Researchers from Northwestern University tested how long different microorganisms could survive on Mars. They found that one species commonly known as "Conan the Bacterium" survived astronomical amounts of radiation in the freezing, arid environment on the Red Planet.
MailOnline reported that researchers estimate the bacterium could live on Mars for 280 million years, which is 300 times longer than previously assumed as long as it is buried 32 feet below the surface to avoid radiation. Although Conan the Bacterium likely does not exist on the Red Planet, they believe that an equivalent microorganism could be living on Mars for a similar period.
Super-survivor Microorganism Can Withstand Freezing, Arid Mars
The study, titled "Effects of Desiccation and Freezing on Microbial Ionizing Radiation Survivability: Considerations for Mars Sample Return" published in the Astrobiology journal, tested multiple extremophile fungi and bacteria that have the ability to withstand harsh conditions that can kill any organism to see if they can survive the unforgiving Mars.
While few of the microorganisms were able to withstand gamma rays, researchers found that the bacteria found on Earth called Deinococcus radiodurans or also known as Conan the Bacterium can stay alive under some of the harshest conditions imaginable even on Mars. Per their observation, it is "particularly well-suited" to the extreme cold and dry conditions of Mars.
They wrote in the university writeup that the Conan the Bacterium survived the astronomical amounts of radiation in the freezing, arid environment, outlasting even the Bacillus spores that can survive on Earth for millions of years.
The study builds on previous Conan research, wherein researchers used spectrogram technology to measure the number of manganese antioxidants in the cells and found that D. radiodurans could handle Mars-like radiation.
Super-survivor Microorganism Could Survive Under Martian Surface
Researchers noted that Conan the Bacterium would not survive very long on the surface when bathed in the ultraviolet light from the Sun, Futurism reported. But if it is 10cm below the surface, the bacterium could survive for 1.5 million years. Buried deeper at nearly 10 meters could enable it to live up to 280 million years.
Pathology professor Michael Daly, the lead author of the study from Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and a planetary protection specialist, said in the writeup that the macromolecules and viruses have a chance of living longer on Mars if they exist. He added that the findings strengthen the probability that life on Mars will be revealed in future missions if they do exist.
The team urges future Mars missions to bring back and study Martian samples to test for D. radiodurans traces that could prove life exists on the Red Planet. But they caution to do it safely to prevent alien contamination on Earth, which could be essentially permanent that will persist for thousands of years and complicate scientific efforts.
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