Biological remains may be found on future missions, including ExoMars and the Mars Life Explorer, which will be equipped with drills to retrieve materials two meters below the surface.
In a series of experiments, scientists determined that some terrestrial microorganisms could potentially survive on Mars for hundreds of millions of years. In fact, the researchers found that a resistant microbe, Deinococcus radioduransespecially well suited for survival in the harsh environment of the Red Planet.
If an organism like this bacterium had last evolved on Mars when liquid water was flowing, its remnants might still be dormant in the planet’s interior.
Source: Ferra
