Some tiny Earthling organisms may be able to survive on Mars

[Judi Lynn]

Study finds that black mould fungus could survive Mars-like conditions

y Tom Bawden
February 22, 2021 5:00 am

Some tiny microscopic organisms, such as black mould fungus, may be able to survive on the surface of Mars, at least temporarily, a new study suggests.

Researchers exposed samples of bacteria and fungi to Mars-like landing conditions for five hours by launching them 24 miles up into the Earth’s stratosphere, which closely represents the conditions on the Red Planet.

“We used a scientific balloon to fly our experimental equipment up to Earth’s stratosphere. Some microbes, in particular spores from the black mould fungus, were able to survive the trip, even when exposed to very high UV radiation,” said Marta Filipa Cortesão, from the German Aerospace Centre in Cologne.

The findings suggest that some kinds of microbes could potentially upset the Martian eco-system if inadvertently introduced to the planet by a space craft.

More:
https://inews.co.uk/news/science/tiny-earth-organisms-may-be-able-to-survive-on-mars-881353?ITO=newsnow

[VMA131Marine]

1. Unless Mars has its own life already ...

it doesn’t have an ecosystem to upset. You can’t upset something that doesn’t exist.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Microbial earthly life could survive on Mars, at least for a time

Human visitors to Mars could bring along numerous microscopic colonizers. That's both good and bad.
Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei February 22, 2021

In a new study, NASA and German Aerospace Center scientists found that Earth microbes can withstand Martian conditions, which means we could use them there, but they could also pose risks for astronauts.



Sturdy microbes
You’re never really alone. You’ve got a gazillion tiny critters on yourself at any given moment. Most are harmless. Some can be useful — and of course, some can be harmful.

Try as we might (and space agencies do try), there’s no realistic way to eliminate all microbes from a crewed mission. Even with all the available decontamination procedures, you can’t really kick all off them from everywhere. If (or perhaps when?) we fly astronauts to Mars, the mission will bring some microbes along, like it or not.

Some have suspected that this wouldn’t matter at all, because the microbes just wouldn’t be able to survive on Mars. But a new study says otherwise.

More:
https://www.zmescience.com/science/microbial-earthly-life-could-survive-on-mars-temporarily/

[exboyfil]

3. Our robot landers and rovers might have already infected Mars

We did have a false alarm on the Moon in this regard. I don't know how long fungi could live without something to eat. Perhaps combined with cyanobacteria?

[FreepFryer]

4. Too late, the Israelis spilled tardigrades all over the Moon.

https://www.wired.com/story/a-crashed-israeli-lunar-lander-spilled-tardigrades-on-the-moon/