A previous photo of the planet Mars by the Hope probe.

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Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center / UAE Space Agency / AP / SIPA

Some microbes evolving on Earth could survive on Mars, at least temporarily, according to a research team from NASA and the German Aerospace Center,

Slate

reports

relaying information from

Cnet

.

To come to this conclusion, the scientists sent different samples of microbes, including fungi, to the Earth's stratosphere, where conditions are surprisingly similar to those on the surface of Mars.



"Some microbes, especially black mold spores, may have survived the trip, even when exposed to very high (ultraviolet) radiation," said Marta Filipa Cortesão, lead author of the study published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Microbiology.

Which means this black mold could follow humans to Mars and survive.

Simulation using a Marsbox

For the purposes of the study, the scientists placed the microbes inside a specially designed container called a Marsbox that simulated the pressure and composition of the Martian atmosphere and sent them all into the stratosphere.

The box contained one layer protected against radiation and one unshielded.

This made it possible to quantify the effects of radiation.



As several missions are scheduled to Mars, it is essential to know whether terrestrial microorganisms can survive in the conditions offered by the red planet.

“With the long-lasting team missions to Mars, we need to know how the microorganisms associated with humans would survive on the Red Planet, as some may pose a health risk to astronauts,” says Katharina Siems, co -author of the study.

The effects of such resistance could be negative as well as positive.

Indeed, microorganisms "could help us produce food and materials independently of the Earth, which will be crucial when we are far from home," said the scientist.

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