Life on Mars?
We’re not looking for little green men, we’re looking for little green bacteria…
video credit: revtyson
On 25th May 2008 the NASA Phoenix mission is due to land on Mars. Phoenix is designed to study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian arctic’s ice-rich soil.
Maybe, soon, we won’t be alone any more.
You can follow the progress of the mission on Twitter, and chat to me about it here.
Update: Landing was successful:
You can follow the latest news on the mission here. Soundtrack
Tags: Bacteria, Biology, Environment, Microbiology, Science
call me a bit thick, but without bringing the water/ice/whatever back to earth, how can one truly be sure what it consists of???
Glad they computed the landing in meters, not feet this time.
LOL: http://www.microbiologybytes.com/maths/graphics/satellite.jpg
The first thing that should be explored is the bacteria.Actually, the conditions on Mars are quite good for chemolithotrophs.But, if they find some bacteria or spores, it won’t be an easy task to cultivate them.
Mars scientists ponder polygon mystery