Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Tiny salt crevices could act as miniature 'Greenhouses' for Martian microbes

phys.org · 5dShare

We've been searching for life on Mars for a long time, but so far we've come up empty. The fundamental problem is a Catch-22 involving two of the key ingredients for life. Life as we know it needs liquid water and reasonable temperatures, both of which are available on Mars, but hardly ever at the same time. But a new paper from lead author Anna Bognar and her team at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University and the Konkoly Observatory describes a way for life to access both requirements at the same time—by hiding away in salt crystals.

First report: Tiny Salt Crevices Could Act As Miniature "Greenhouses" For Martian Microbes — universetoday.com, 5d