16 FEBRUARY 2021
Mars may not have a lot going on at the moment, life-wise, but the dusty red planet may not be as inhospitable as it seems.
New experiments have shown that cyanobacteria (aka blue-green algae) can successfully grow in Martian atmospheric conditions.
A few more ingredients are required, of course, but it's a significant step towards cyanobacteria-based life support systems for human habitats when we finally make our way over there.
"Here we show that cyanobacteria can use gases available in the Martian atmosphere, at a low total pressure, as their source of carbon and nitrogen," said astrobiologist Cyprien Verseux of the University of Bremen in Germany.