Comment Life on Mars (Score 1) 91
Hello, My name is Curtis Bekkum, I did most of the research for Dr. Kral on this subject. Let me try to answer some questions about our research. First of all, we did not find life on Mars.... yet. All we did was to take Martian soil simulant that was void of a carbon source and add varying amounts of water and detected growth by methane production. We wanted to show that the soil, if it has water and the water was liquid, then life could have and can flourish there.
Everyone thinks we tried to copy the conditions on the surface of Mars, But life can grow underground. On Earth there was a discovery a few years back that bacteris existed in granite aquifers two miles below the surface. So if Mars is like earth and there is liquid water underground, then there,theoretically, could be life. Water is the key, and according to our results not that much water only about 0.5 ml per 5g of soil. Radiation would not be a factor since the organisms would be subterranian. Also methanogens use Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide to make methane, this is it's chemoautotrophic mechanism to make energy. Nitrogen would be used to make amino acids and other compounds.
The atmosphere of Mars is about 1/100th of that on earth, it is composed of CO2, N2, and CO. Some archea bacteria can exist only on CO and water. Also again subterranian water could have dissovled gases, such as hydrogen from various chemical and/or volcanic sources. As evidence I refer you to the above topic of granite aquifers. Also volcanic plums in deepsea vents harbor bacteria.
So as conditions are now, life cannot exist on the surface of mars, too cold, not enough water, oxidation, radiation, ect. But it could have existed at one point, and it still could exist today under ground.
Any other Questions can be asked to me, my email is cbekkum@comp.uark.edu
Thanks, and i hope i answered at least some of your questions.
Everyone thinks we tried to copy the conditions on the surface of Mars, But life can grow underground. On Earth there was a discovery a few years back that bacteris existed in granite aquifers two miles below the surface. So if Mars is like earth and there is liquid water underground, then there,theoretically, could be life. Water is the key, and according to our results not that much water only about 0.5 ml per 5g of soil. Radiation would not be a factor since the organisms would be subterranian. Also methanogens use Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide to make methane, this is it's chemoautotrophic mechanism to make energy. Nitrogen would be used to make amino acids and other compounds.
The atmosphere of Mars is about 1/100th of that on earth, it is composed of CO2, N2, and CO. Some archea bacteria can exist only on CO and water. Also again subterranian water could have dissovled gases, such as hydrogen from various chemical and/or volcanic sources. As evidence I refer you to the above topic of granite aquifers. Also volcanic plums in deepsea vents harbor bacteria.
So as conditions are now, life cannot exist on the surface of mars, too cold, not enough water, oxidation, radiation, ect. But it could have existed at one point, and it still could exist today under ground.
Any other Questions can be asked to me, my email is cbekkum@comp.uark.edu
Thanks, and i hope i answered at least some of your questions.
