Algae can survive in a Mars-like environment

New research on algae raises hopes for a future where humanity can turn barren Mars into a planet as green as Earth.

In a recent experiment, algae were carried by balloon to an altitude of 30,000 m and survived for 4 hours at temperatures lower than -30°C with intense ultraviolet light and lack of oxygen, Xinhua News Agency reported on December 28.

Algae proliferate at a beach in Qingdao city, Shandong province, China.

This is the fourth experiment carried out by the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2019. The previous three experiments were conducted in extreme environments in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the autonomous region. rule Xinjiang.

The results show that the algae survive healthy in conditions simulating Mars, although further experiments are needed to test whether they can grow or even multiply on the planet's surface. red planet or not, noted researcher Wang Gaohong at the Institute of Hydrology.

Algae have been gradually changing and improving the Earth's environment since this group of plants first appeared. The director of the Chinese Science Association Liu Yongding believes that they are very important for the origin and evolution of species on our planet.

Algae are the Earth's source of oxygen production and play an important role in maintaining the stability of the biosphere. They consume carbon dioxide (CO2) and produce oxygen, which supports the development of life. This would be very helpful since the Martian atmosphere is mainly made up of CO2.

Liu emphasizes that the conditions on Mars were very similar to our planet in its infancy. So algae could be the key to human ambitions to conquer and colonize the red planet.

According to Professor Xiao Long at the University of Geosciences of China, the experiment to test the effects of intense radiation from outer space on algae is very important before sending this organism to Mars, where there is no "global magnetic field" to block radiation from space and the Sun.