sagansense:“Photosynthesis is Possible on the Surface of Mars” | The Daily Galaxy“
sagansense:“Photosynthesis is Possible on the Surface of Mars” | The Daily Galaxy“We have shown the first time, that in particular photosynthesis is possible in micro-niches on the surface of Mars,” says Jean-Pierre de Vera, a scientist at the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin, Germany. On Earth, Antarctic lichen has shown itself capable of going beyond survival and adapting to life in simulated Martian conditions.The mere feat of surviving temperatures as low as -51 degrees C and enduring a radiation bombardment during a 34-day experiment might seem like an accomplishment by itself. But the lichen, a symbiotic mass of fungi and algae, also proved it could adapt physiologically to living a normal life in such harsh Martian conditions — as long as the lichen lived under “protected” conditions shielded from much of the radiation within “micro-niches” such as cracks in the Martian soil or rocks.[Read more]via heythereuniverse -- source link