An extensive microbial life on Mars was discovered long back in 1976. These are the findings of a major study recently conducted by a team of researchers from the Arizona University, Tempe and the National Instituted of Health.
The Viking Lander mission conducted in 1976 analyzed the "non-biological hypotheses" on Mars. A Viking Labeled Release (LR) experiment was conducted as a part of the mission then, the findings of which has been investigated again in the recent study published in the journal Astrobiology.
During the LR experiment, the lander collected samples of soils from different areas on the surface of the red planet, according to Science World Report. The collected samples were subjected to injection of nutrients after heating and kept in a dark room for a period of two months.
According to Daily Mail, the Martian soil showed a similar reaction as anyone would expect in case of terrestrial soil present on Earth. The data for the Martian soil was critically compared to the similar data obtained through analysis of soil samples collected from Antarctica, California and Alaska.
The authors of the recent study claim that the results of the LR experiment reminds of the response typically shows by microorganisms species present on Earth. Some of the response compared includes death upon long-term storage, early positive response and reabsorption of released gases upon injection of nutrients.
The research team has further cautioned that any Mars mission conducted in the future should possible be prepared to find some sought of alien life in the samples collected from the Martian land. Such samples would be viable, even if they are found in a dormant state.
Astrobiologist Chris McKay of the NASA Ames Research Centre believes that there may be people in the scientific community who are not convinced with the fact that the Viking LR experiment actually provides an evidence of life on Mars. However, the study does suggests that its possibility must be considered.
