Could there be life on Mars?

Could there be life on Mars, ever? Was there life on Mars at any time? Before we tackle any of those, we need a quick biology lesson. More specifically, we need to look at one of the toughest forms of life known to science.

Lichen is one of the toughest organisms there is, and it can survive in some of the most hostile environments on Earth. These environments include the freezing cold and dry valleys of Antarctica, to the searing heat of deserts.

This tough little organism can even live within solid rock, growing between the grains of the stone. Lichens can be very sensitive when it comes to the quality of air, and many vanished from towns and cities decades ago. This disappearance was attributed to coal smoke that polluted the air.

When this air cleaned up, thanks to coal smoke being removed, lichens returned. Now though, urban lichen is again threatened by poor air quality because of traffic pollution.

what does lichen have to do with the question, “Could there be life on Mars?”?, I’m glad you asked.

Could there be life on Mars… With lichen?

Lichen (sounds like Lycan, but they aren’t as bitey) are modest-looking things, but they are so amazingly tough that some varieties can survive in space.

When enterprising scientists attached lichen to the outside of the ISS (International Space Station) for 18 months, what happened? Well, they more than ‘just’ survived the vacuum of space:

• They survived unfiltered ultraviolet rays and radiation from the sun.
• Zero water was no issue for the lichen.
• The lichen continued to photosynthesize like nothing had happened.

We think you’ll agree when I say that’s pretty damned amazing. That isn’t the only reason though why the answer is probably yes when asking “Could there be life on Mars?”.

Back here on Earth, other Lichens were kept in a simulation of a Martian environment. The lichens remained active, increasing the chances that they could live on Mars, and if lichen could survive there…

The Martian environment is insanely cold and dry, with low atmospheric pressure and is bombarded with radiation from the sun.

We already know, thanks to the Earth-bound experiment and the one conducted outside the ISS, that cold and radiation pose no problem for lichen. Unfortunately, though, their reproduction can be harmed. That being said, bacteria that had been subjected to the same treatment did not survive at all.

So promising are these findings, in the long run, that it is thought that life on Earth may possibly have been spread by lichen. This lichen could have been hitched a ride on comets, meteorites or asteroids before being spread across Earth.

If there is even a small chance of lichen having been responsible for life here, then the only answer to “Could there be life on Mars?” is yes.