Curiosity may have brought bacteria to Mars

If the Curiosity autonomous exploration device finds bacteria on Mars, that discovery is unlikely to be evidence of life on the red planet.

When looking for life in another world, the most basic precaution is that space agencies need to ensure that the probe does not carry the bacteria of the earth. However, there is concern that Curiosity has brought bacteria.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Curiosity can be infected 6 months before being released. Curiosity's drill is in a sealed box, separate from the drill to prevent infection. However, a NASA engineer fears that the complicated process of landing could make the assembly of the drill fail, so he opened the sealed box to install the drill. The engineer did that without asking for advice from the Curiosity program team.

Curiosity is inserted inside a conical chamber to place on the name
boosters at the US Kennedy Space Center in 2011. (Photo: NASA)

NASA scientists fear that about 250,000 bacterial spores can survive after Curiosity flies to space and land on Mars. If Curiosity drilled underground and met water, NASA's engineering team would have to consider the risk that they themselves had brought life to Mars. That means they will never know whether the real Red planet has life.

Even if Curiosity has brought bacteria from the earth, the chances of them being able to survive in an environment full of solar radiation in the universe are very low. But many organisms can survive even in the universe and in an environment like Mars. Arthropods can survive up to 10 days in the cosmic environment, and lichens can live up to 1.5 years. Some bacterial research groups have also shown that, theoretically, bacteria can survive on Mars. And it is these microbes that can turn a wild planet into a place where people live.