“Conan” can keep its lineage alive for 280 million years in a barren extraterrestrial world with temperatures of -80 degrees Celsius, lying 10 meters beneath the surface.
A team of scientists led by microbiologist Michael Daly from the Uniformed Services University in the United States selected six “extraordinary” organisms on Earth and subjected them to the most extreme health challenge of all time.
Mars may still be hiding life underground – (Photo: ESA)
According to Science Alert, the six organisms—including Deinococcus radiodurans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae—first had to prove their resilience in an environment akin to Mars, with temperatures of -80 degrees Celsius and almost no water.
Moreover, they—when in a dry and frozen state—were bombarded with gamma rays and protons to simulate cosmic radiation, at levels sufficient to disrupt the building blocks of life, namely amino acids.
This experiment also recreated Martian conditions, a planet with a thin atmosphere and magnetosphere, where the surface is exposed to harsh radiation that could kill a human within six months due to radiation exposure 40-50 times greater than that on Earth.
The immortal organism revealed itself to be Deinococcus radiodurans, which scientists have nicknamed “Conan the Bacterium.”
Data reveals that Conan can maintain its lineage through a frozen state and may experience intermittent revival phases for up to 1.5 million years if located 10 cm beneath the Martian surface.
At a depth of 10 meters, they could survive for 280 million years.
This means that if Mars—born as the perfect twin of Earth—also harbors a twin version of Conan, they could very well be wriggling somewhere beneath the surface.
“Although the Conan bacteria buried beneath the Martian surface cannot survive in a dormant state for 2 to 2.5 billion years—since water disappeared from Mars— the Martian environment is frequently altered and melted due to meteorite impacts,” Dr. Daly explained.
This suggests that they undergo intermittent thawing with brief periods sufficient for reproduction, thus maintaining their lineage.
Co-author, chemist Brian Hoffman from Northwestern University in the U.S., expressed caution regarding this “good news.” They believe that if Mars possesses life forms similar to those on Earth, the potential for cross-contamination of bacteria between the two planets during space travel is a risk that must be taken seriously.
However, above all, this is an encouraging signal that could guide Mars exploration missions such as ESA’s ExoMars or NASA’s life-hunting robots currently present on our neighboring planet.
The research was recently published in the scientific journal Astrobiology.
