 |  Surviving the conditions on Mars
 27 April 2012
Alpine and polar lichens could also survive on Mars. Planetary researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) simulated the conditions on Mars for 34 days and exposed various microorganisms to this environment. "During this period, the lichens and bacteria continued to demonstrate measurable activity and carry out photosynthesis," says Jean-Pierre de Vera, a scientist at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin and head of the Mars simulation project. The microorganisms adapted to this environment, primarily in niches in rocks and in fissures and gaps in the simulated Martian soil. This might be an indication that such adaptation strategies would make life possible in niches on the actual surface of Mars as well.
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