New Research Finds Mars's Surface Is too Toxic to Support Life

[ffr]

Looks like we’re in for a more toxic relationship with Mars than we thought. Scientists have now discovered that the surface of the red planet is a “toxic cocktail” of chemicals, making it very unlikely that any organisms could survive on the red planet’s landscape, let alone us.

The discovery came from analyzing the interactions between different elements present on Mars’s surface, and the result spells bad news for those hopeful that there’s any life living there now, or in the past.

In 2015, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered signs of a powerful oxidant called perchlorate in what was perceived to be wet streaks running down canyons and crater walls on the planet’s surface. The presence of perchlorates on Mars had actually been detected by Mars Viking landers as far back as the ‘70s. It was theorized that alien bacteria could potentially use the perchlorates as an energy source, implying that perceived damp streaks spotted on Mars’s surface were some of the best bets for places to look for microbial life.



But a study published July 6 in the journal Scientific Reports by Jennifer Wadsworth & Charles S. Cockell of the University of Edinburgh think otherwise. The scientists looked at how a soil bacterium fared when it was mixed with perchlorates and then subjected to ultraviolet rays similar to those on Mars. Two other components of the Martian surface were added, iron oxides and hydrogen peroxide, and the result was rapid cell death. - Inverse.com

[FM123]

1. That's not what Alex Jones said!

Seriously, these are beautiful photos and it is a refreshing change to read about science as opposed to the crazy sciencetrumpfiction that we are bombarded with.

[mn9driver]

2. UV at Mars surface is the big problem.

UV sterilizers use short wave UVC. This is the same stuff that reaches the surface of Mars, along with similarly lethal UVB. Any microbes on the surface would be dead in less than a minute regardless of the presence of perchlorates. In the distant past, this would not have been as much of an issue since at one time Mars had a decent atmosphere.