Scientists Discover Blueprint For Life Forms On Mars

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that microbes found living in Canada's High Arctic, in conditions similar to those on Mars, can survive by eating and breathing simple inorganic compounds like those that have been detected on Mars.

Under the permafrost of Lost Hammer Spring in Canada's High Arctic is an extremely salty, very cold, and almost oxygen-free environment that is most similar to certain regions on Mars. So, if you want to understand more about the types of life forms that could once have existed - or may still exist - on Mars, this is a fantastic place to look.

[...] In a recent paper in The ISME Journal, the researchers show for the first time, that microbial communities discovered living in Canada's High Arctic, in conditions corresponding to those on Mars, can survive by eating and breathing simple inorganic compounds of the type that have been detected on Mars (such as methane, sulfate, sulfide, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide).

[...] Lost Hammer Spring, in Nunavut in Canada's High Arctic, is one of the saltiest and coldest terrestrial springs discovered to date. The water which travels up through 600 meters (2000 feet) of permafrost to the surface is extremely salty (~24% salinity), perennially at sub-zero temperatures (~-5 C/23 F), and contains almost no oxygen (<1ppm dissolved oxygen). The extremely high salt concentrations keep the Lost Hammer spring from freezing, allowing it to maintain a liquid water habitat even at sub-zero temperatures. These conditions are analogous to those found in certain regions of Mars, where widespread salt deposits and possible cold salt springs have been observed. While previous research has shown evidence of microbes in this kind of Mars-like environment - this is one of the very few studies to find microbes alive and active.

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