Haloferax volcanii Grows Under Mars-Like Conditions in Lab Test

The team supplied some cultures with nitrate or perchlorate, bleach-like compounds linked to Mars. The microbes used these chemicals to fuel their metabolism and reproduced, though more slowly than comparable cultures kept at Earth's atmospheric pressure. They also retained most of their water in the salty setting, possibly helped by structures called biofilms. Cultures without nitrate or perchlorate merely survived.

Limits of the experiment

The researchers stress that the simulation did not capture every Martian condition. The microbes were kept at 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit), far warmer than most of the Martian subsurface. It is also unknown whether the pockets of liquid water the lab setup was meant to mimic actually exist on Mars. "The environment that we're mimicking in this experiment has not been observed on Mars, but is theorized to exist," Robinson explained.

Why it matters

The result adds to research suggesting that life as we know it could cope with conditions thought to exist on Mars, including just beneath the surface, where salty environments are expected. "We are adding to the growing body of evidence suggesting that we should consider the possibility of life on Mars today," Robinson said. That could widen the search beyond traces of long-extinct microbial life and point scientists toward new places to look.