An example of bacteria
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JPL/NASA
Microbes Could Live on Mars!
News story originally written on September 4, 2002
Researchers have found tiny critters that could live in environments like Mars. No, they are not Martians! They are a type of bacteria that lives here on Earth.
These bacteria are very small, so they are called microorganisms or microbes. They are relatives of the first life on Earth. Today they live in places where there is no oxygen like swamps, sewage and even in our guts.
To see whether these bacteria would be able to survive in a Martian environment, researchers put them into a chamber where the pressure could be reduced to be like the conditions on Mars. Despite the different environment, the little critters survived and grew!
Life like this may exist today below the surface of Mars where an underground ocean of ice sits. Or, creatures like these might have lived on Mars in the past!
Last modified September 4, 2002 by Lisa Gardiner.
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