A Perchlorate Strategy for Extreme Xerophilic Life on Mars?
نویسنده
چکیده
The near-surface environment of Mars is a challenging environment for microorganisms to survive. Yet, resources such as perchlorates and hydrogen peroxide-water mixtures are available that could provide supportive tools for putative Martian life. Here, we focus on the useful properties of perchlorates such as hygroscopicity and the suppression of the freezing point of water, and point to perchlorate reducing microbes on Earth, some of which are related to magnetotactic bacteria, as analogs for possible near-surface Martian life.
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