Bacteria And Mars

A team of researchers in Denmark, looking at the possibility of bacterial life on Mars, is getting some interesting results. The team has constructed a Mars Environment Simulation Chamber. Inside the chamber, the team has recreated the environment of Mars-- its atmosphere, soil, and radiation and temperature levels-- as closely as possible. The team then introduced bacteria into the chamber, to see if it survived. Bacteria on the surface, exposed to the radiation, died. However, bacteria from roughly an inch below the surface and deeper, is surviving. The experiment is ongoing,

So far, of course, the experiment suggests bacterial life can exist below the surface of Mars. More precisely, it suggests Earthly bacteria could survive in subsurface Mars, Earthly bacteria obviously has an evolutionary history that does not include Martian conditions. If bacteria got a start on Mars, it would have evolved under the conditions on that planet. If Earthly bacteria could survive on Mars, native bacteria might thrive there. There is no evidence, however, of any life on the surface of Mars.