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Bremen (dpa) - Cyanobacteria could thrive even under the inhospitable conditions on Mars, produce oxygen and thus enable astronauts to survive independently in the future.
This is the result of the Humboldt Fellow Cyprien Verseux from the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen.
He and his team are now presenting some of their findings in the journal “Frontiers in Microbiology”.
The scientists explain that cyanobacteria are primarily known as blue-green algae, which can multiply in lakes in summer.
On Mars, their full potential comes into play, as they produce oxygen through photosynthesis.
This ability can be found in almost all plants, but cyanobacteria could also grow on the basis of the nutrients that are available on Mars.
The researchers gained this knowledge in the laboratory, more precisely in the “Atmos”, the “Atmosphere Tester for Mars-bound Organic Systems”.
They found that the bacteria reproduce excellently when they are exposed to an atmosphere not dissimilar to that of the planet Mars - both in terms of the carbon / nitrogen mixture there and the atmospheric pressure.
"The growth achieved has even exceeded expectations by far," said a statement from ZARM.
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Self-sufficient biological life support systems will play an important role in future Mars missions, because a spacecraft will travel there for at least nine months, depending on the planetary constellation.
In addition to the long journey time, safety aspects and transport costs also made it difficult to continuously supply astronauts on Mars with life-sustaining consumables, it said.
With a life support system based on cyanobacteria, the crew could fall back on local resources and thus greatly reduce their dependence on the earth, emphasized Verseux with a view to plans by leading space agencies to aim for astronautical missions to Mars in the future.
On this Thursday, however, the rover "Perseverance" launched in the summer of last year by the US space agency NASA will land on Mars.
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Study in Frontiers in Microbiology