Surface of Mars poses danger to life, tests show The environment on Mars may be more harmful to Earth-based life forms than previously thought, experiments by Edinburgh scientists have shown.
From The University of Edinburgh
Researchers investigated the behaviour of chemical compounds, called perchlorates, which are found on the surface of the red planet.More: http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/surface-of-mars-poses-danger-to-life-tests-showThey found that, when exposed to UV light whilst in environmental conditions mimicking those on Mars, the chemicals can kill bacteria commonly carried by spacecraft.
Their findings could have implications for potential contamination from robotic and human exploration of Mars.
Compound effect
The study also suggested that the effect of perchlorates can be compounded by two other types of chemicals found on Mars’ surface, iron oxides and hydrogen peroxide.
In experiments in which all three were present, the combination led to a more than 10-fold increase in death of bacterial cells compared with perchlorates alone.
Scientists have speculated on the influence that perchlorates may have on the habitability of the planet, since their discovery there several years ago.
Bacteria tests
Researchers in the UK Centre for Astrobiology and School of Physics and Astronomy investigated the potential reactivity of perchlorates and their effect on Bacillus subtilis, a bacterium found on spacecraft and common in soils and rocks.
Their experiments showed that when magnesium perchlorate was exposed to UV radiation similar to that on Mars, it became capable of killing bacteria much more effectively than UV light alone.
At concentrations of perchlorate similar to those found on the Martian surface, cells of B. subtilis quickly died.
Damaging environment
Although the Martian surface has been suspected for some time to have toxic effects, the latest study suggests that it may be highly damaging to living cells.This is owing to a toxic mix of oxidants, iron oxides, perchlorates, and UV energy.
Their study, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, was published in Scientific Reports.
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I wonder if a denser atmosphere would remove perchlorates out of the air and in back in to the ground?
Well, they would need some terraforming process before getting settlements on Mars I think.
But where there's water, there can be life.
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IT SURE DOES! Just ask Matt Damon! :-)
Does mars have a magnetosphere? If not, then any humans living there are going to end up just like that cosmonaut from 487 days on Mir. The russians know that humans can't survive without the magnetic field and electromagnetic radiation that is natural within the earth's atmosphere. Anyone who thinks humans can live outside of the earth's atmosphere just hasn't done any research into the effect of non-natural EMF especially on loss of bone, but more generally, into the effect of being unable to sense the natural ELF waves in our atmoshpere. We are making our own planet this way with so much radio frequency emissions flying around now too, and the disruption to circadian cycles is the primary reason for cancer, heart disease, psychiatric disturbances.
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