A minute fungi from Antarctica have endured hard conditions simulated on the International Space Station (ISS). These conditions are said to be similar to that of Mars.
Scientists believe that the results of this research can be used extensively to study the possibility of life on the red planet.
"After 18 months on board in conditions similar to those on Mars, more than 60 per cent of the fungal cells remained intact, with stable DNA. Lichens from the Sierra de Gredos (Spain) and the Alps (Austria) were also sent into space for the same experiment."
According to researchers, the fungus us commonly found in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. This place is considered the most similar earthly equivalent to Mars. These cryptoendolithic microorganisms are the only ones that are capable of surviving in cracks in rocks.
Researchers, including Kasthuri Venkateswaran from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in US, collected samples of two species of cryptoendolithic fungi. These are the Cryomyces antarcticus and Cryomyces minteri.
The samples of the said fungi were subjected to ultra-violet radiation as if on Mars (higher than 200 nanometres) while the rest of the samples were exposed to lower radiation which includes control samples.
"The most relevant outcome was that more than 60 per cent of the cells of the endolithic communities studied remained intact after 'exposure to Mars', or rather, the stability of their cellular DNA was still high," said Rosa de la Torre Noetzel from Spain's National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), co-researcher on the project.
"The results help to assess the survival ability and long-term stability of microorganisms and bioindicators on the surface of Mars, information which becomes fundamental and relevant for future experiments centred around the search for life on the red planet," said De la Torre.
Researchers also studied two species of lichens which can withstand extreme high-mountain environments.
The results of the study were published in a journal: Astrobiology.
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