Discovered an algae that lived up to 2 years in space

When it comes to the goal of bringing people to migrate to Mars, all of its options lead to a basic impasse.

Technology allows us to come and land on the surface of the red planet. Future resources can also be enough for people to build stations. But when the ultimate goal is a long and sustainable life, the first thing we must find is: How to grow on the surface of Mars?

A Martian agriculture comes here, different from the way Matt Demon planted potatoes in The Martian . It is an agriculture when food can be grown directly on the surface of the red planet, outside the laboratory, with vacuum, intense temperature fluctuations, radiation and all the harsh conditions.

Matt Deamon's potatoes died as soon as the laboratory exploded, exposed it under vacuum and super-cold temperatures of Mars.

In the past 2 years, scientists have continuously carried out agricultural experiments on the International Space Station (ISS). The results show us some suggestions. There is a green algae and photosynthetic bacteria that can survive for 450 days outside of space. Nearly all specimens have grown when returning to Earth and only one specimen has died.

These experiments on ISS are just the beginning of the Biology and Mars Experiment project (BIOMEX) . In it, scientists want to find out if life on the ground can be transferred and exist in space as well as on Mars.

Hundreds of bags of specimens containing bacteria, fungi, lichens, algae and mosses have been exposed to extreme conditions: from environments near vacuum, temperatures range from -20 ^° C to 47 ^o C and prolonged ultraviolet radiation explosions.

Last June, BIOMEX's lab was sent back to Earth. Scientists began analyzing the results. Organisms are decoded DNA to find out if they have any damage when living in the harsh environment of the universe.

Algae Sphaerocystis can survive in space, it will produce oxygen and protein.

Two of the most hopeful creatures: Sphaerocystis algae , found in a Norwegian archipelago and ancient Nostoc bacteria, are present in Antarctica. These species are considered to have great potential, because they have been known for their tolerance to cold.

Algae can protect themselves by putting their bodies into hibernation, creating a thick wall of orange follicles containing carotenoids.Carotenoids are pigments that color the carrot, but it also has anti-radiation effects.

Besides Sphaerocystis and Nostoc bacteria , there is a list of other organisms that can also exist in space, including lichen and water bears (Tardigrades).

Experiments in BIOMEX project, bringing living organisms into space.

The real lesson about these existential organisms will help us have hope for a farm on Mars. There, algae can produce protein and oxygen, two important ingredients that help people survive when leaving Earth.

These experiments, on the other hand, can also help us better understand life itself on the planet. There is a theory that life has naturally appeared within an Earth's "soup pot" mixed with inorganic chemicals.

However, there is also a theory that a meteorite brought life from the universe to the ground. If so, at least, we must find evidence of a certain creature, able to survive and live in the harsh conditions of space. And in the future, BIOMEX may reveal to us all of those answers.