Microbes may have survived for millions of years beneath the Martian surface
By Ashley Strickland, CNN
Updated 7:14 PM EDT, Wed October 26, 2022
(CNN)— Ancient bacteria might be sleeping beneath the surface of Mars, where it has been shielded from the harsh radiation of space for millions of years, according to new research.
While no evidence of life has been found on the red planet, researchers simulated conditions on Mars in a lab to see how bacteria and fungi could survive. The scientists were surprised to discover that bacteria could likely survive for 280 million years if it was buried and protected from the ionizing radiation and solar particles that bombard the Martian surface.
The findings suggested that if life ever existed on Mars, the dormant evidence of it might still be located in the planet’s subsurface — a place that future missions could explore as they drill into Martian soil.
While Mars was likely a more hospitable environment for life billions of years ago, including an atmosphere and water on its surface, today the red planet is more like a frozen desert. The planet’s arid midlatitudes have an average temperature of minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62 degrees Celsius). And then there’s the constant threat of radiation because Mars has such a thin atmosphere.
More:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/26/world/ancient-bacteria-mars-subsurface-scn/index.html